Easy Silence

pretty sure the lyrics of this song are the best work the dixie chicks have ever done.... "Monkeys on the barricades Are warning us to back away They form commissions trying to find The next one they can crucify"

beautiful song though...think its just about how the world is so cruel and harsh with war and destruction, but at home in the comfort of her husband/family, she's at peace and can relax. :)

My take on the song is that its basically their view on some of the events that have involved them recently.

"Busses, cars, and airplanes leaving Burning fumes of gasoline"

Not to start a debate on the current situation in Iraq with anyone, but a great deal of people believe we are over there just for oil, and all of the above burn gasoline.

"They form commissions trying to find The next one they can crucify"

Line is saying that the government forms these commissions which really do little in the long run. They find a person and blame them for whatever when really as a country we need to change. Look it up sometime, we have a great deal of technology that could replace our need for oil, however the oil companies prevent this.

"Children lose their youth too soon Watching war made us immune"

Pretty sure she's talking about the vietnam war which ended in 1972. Watching the war as a child has basically made them immune to seeing the violence in Iraq right now.

And as for the part where she's talking about the easy silence, it's in reference to how the Dixie Chicks took a break from the music industry. They said what they wanted to say, people didn't want to hear it (which freedom of speech is one of the things which makes this country so great) so they went into the silence for a while.

I might be totally off base on this, but my personal interpretation is that it's about some kind of "Forbidden" love. I kind of think of this song as maybe about a gay couple living in a conservative area- "They form commissions trying to find The next one they can crucify"- who are kind of scared of everything that's going on around them but love each other more than anything and create an "Easy Silence" for each other. Again, I'm taking a lot of liberties here, and the girls probably didn't intend the song that way- It's just what comes to mind when I hear this song.

Hmmm... I don't think so Lady. The Chicks themselves have said this is a song about their marriages. I think it's just about having that easy silence - When you don't HAVE to say anything at all - with your partner. It's about an escape from the 'real' world into the world of family & love.

wow, that's so interesting that the chicks said this is about their marriages cuz i didn't immediately think it was a song about traditional marriages and relationships. i kinda thought, and stay with me here, that this was a sort of statement on how americans are and how they feel about their government, administration and authority figures. like it's okay to not know the reality of the world, especially in what's going on outside of america, because we've got the government and media telling us it's okay and are always there to protect us. and since we don't necessarily have to worry about what's happening outside of america, because we're so well taken care of inside of it, that it's almost like it doesn't even have to affect us and we can just retreat to the easy silence of where ignorance is bliss, and we can just ignore world events and not have to worry about it. any sounds of help can be muffled whenever we go into that easy silence that was made for us, cuz the world is kept at bay for us. we're just so seperate and safe.

sorry about my argument being muddled, i switch from using the term americans as a third party to the inclusive we, cuz i'm american.

anyway, i thought that's what they were getting at. maybe i should write a song about that, since this one obviously isn't. lol.

For me, this song reminds me of being with my best friends. When I'm with them, silence isn't awkward, its comforting. They know what I'm thinking anyway, there's no need to say it! "... the easy silence you create for me, it's okay when there's nothing more to say to me..." So I guess what I'm saying is that I think you're right about the marriage thing- it would make sense anyway.

You cannot ignore the political and war themes in this song, but taken into context of what the DXC have gone through since 2003, I believe the song is, indeed, about simply escaping into the comfort of a loved one, to that special place when you don't have to speak and communication is natural. I can see the DXC having to do this a lot to duck the storm that rained down on them after the Bush incident. It's no doubt my favorite song they have ever done, to date, and it gave me chills when I saw them recently in Atlancic City. A Maines singing masterpiece.

When the calls and conversations Accidents and accusations Messages and misperceptions Paralyze my mind

does that part strongly remind you guys of another song? not the words, but the tune

I think it does of course have poiltical understones (Of Course! lol), but I really feel this is a song about love, and just being still with the one you love - The Chicks are lucky to have three wonderful husbands who are there for them no matter what!

i love natalie maines.