I Might Need You To Kill

the biblical references are obvious the sense of a coming apolocalypse which in the hands of the christian right might make itself manifest as self-fufilling prophecy i'm not sure if it is the author's original intent but i am an inverse deconstructualist so for me it doesn't really matter [nothing exists outside of the context] the crosses and nazi halos conjours reminds me of the idea of the crucified skinhead its a martyring propaganda tactic taken up by whitepower enthusiasts in its own right it too becomes a self-fufilling prophecy they are (technically) persecuted for their beliefes this persecution fails maryrdom however in that those very beliefs are based opon persecuting others the next lines continue the theme -and the comment above mine is probably correct about the reference to Auschwitz but here i think the image becomes reified and turns into a simple social critique and in some ways a lament that all of our attempts to slavage our friendships to keep everyone together have merely turned us all to Ash the comparison of burned bridges to the holocaust is an obvious hyperbole and its usage is somewhat questionable considering the sensitivity of the subject but The Thermals are really just the hipsters NOFX so its an art form based upon hyperbole and extremes personally i think its a kind of dilliberate absurdity anyone who has every been in a marginally sucessful band knows the feeling of isolation that comes with success all of a sudden you become a part of the very establishment you orininally set out to rebel against and your friends start to do stupid shit like draw swastikas all over your high school yearbook its that positively 4th street sort of feel. the next verse further inverts the imagery orininally Christianity is viewed within the context of right-wing evangelicals bible beaters/westboro/ men with crosses screaming at innocent pedestrians now they, the band becomes the Christians with their own zealotry in riot against this again the lyrics present themselves in an absurdist hyperbole "i might need you to kill every room and every human at will" and therefore deconstructs the very idea which it presents as a course of action (it seems highly doubtful that the Thermals would actually want their fans to go with them on a killing spree) the chorus returns itself to the orignal critique by taking what is considered to be the positive aspect of the spread of Christianity and inverting it "they'll drown your disease, they'll pound you with the light of Jesus" it shows the violence involved with evangelicism the next verse goes back to voice of the band who choses flight instead of fight still caught within a double bind the last verse and chorus are just there to finish song

overall i think it is in some ways a critique of the crusader mindset albiet still finding its own pleasure withing that very concept it reveals a number of contradictions within our own society and seeks to turn blood into fire and piss into wine

i dont think they are outrightly anti-Christian or merely doing things for the sake of blasphemy but rather seek to reveal the infinite number of contradictions involved with Christianity

-with my right hand crossed over my heart and my left fist raised high-