Integral

The clue is in the fifth and sixth lines of the song and in the pronunciation of the word as “integral” instead of the more accepted “integrel” (deliberate spelling error to high light the pronunciation).

The whole song is based on a book by Yevgeny Zamyatin, called “We”. The book portrays a nightmare state where every moment of every individuals life is planned, plotted and controlled by a hyper totalitarian government that calculates all the probabilities of peoples behavour (“Where your lives exist as information).

What must be remembered is that Neil Tennant is a very educated man (History degree) and has shown in previous songs that he is very well read ( re: “I was faced with a choice at a difficult age Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage? But in the back of my head I heard distant feet Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat”).

So it should not come as a surprise that he should use classical Russian literature as inspiration for his work. Although I do not disagree with the above comments (they are valid and well presented) but if we are to be pedantic about this song we must say that it is about a book, and it is Yevgeny Zamyatin's book that is about the “New World Order”.

Incidentally “We” is a good book and I can really recommend it to anyone who likes conspiracy theories or has ever read (and liked) George Orwell's “1984”. Also audio books for free does a good audio book of it.

Remember, Just because you are paranoid it doesn't mean that they are not out to get you!

Easy. A song about promotion of comforming with the war on terrorism. Easily said as "if you have done nothing wrong, then you have nothing to fear" so thus, give up your rights because you are safe.

WRONG!

This is promoting the New World Order proven by the lyrics

Everyone has Their own number -- Social Security Number or 666 soon to come. In the system that We operate under - Government We're moving to A situation Where your lives exist As information -- The loss of our privacy One world - New World Order One life One chance - 9/11 One reason All under One sky Unchanging One season

Unmistaken.

Beyond the 9/11 implications (which I'm somewhat reluctant to accept) this is a song in general about systemization of humanity, one that has appeared in many science fiction works. There are also some echoes of Communism and the ideal of the Collective without individualism, and the ideas that those who are accused of parasitism are expelled from the system. I feel that the 9/11 interpretation is a bit too subjective, given the use of this idea for many many years beforehand.

Both Mode000 and AthenAltena pretty much covered the song, it's meaning isn't very hidden and quite clear.

The two crucial parts for me where these:

"Long live us / The persuaded we"

The people of Europe and the United States have willingly given up a lot of their civil liberties in exchange for the promise they will be protected by the government, hence the long live us part. Persuaded is a rather negative word and it seems to hint that the new system isn't all that positive after all.

"You've had your chance / Now we've got the mandate / If you've changed your mind / I'm afraid it's too late"

The legislation that was pushed through the parliaments by the governments gives it unprecedented power to track, investigate and arrest innocent citizens. The United States wire-tapping scandal is the most obvious example, but so are the national ID card, the arrests of people who aren't charged with any crimes. Sometimes going as far as Administrative Detention, under which detainees are held without charge or trial and detention orders can be renewed without limits. People who would seek to turn back some of these new legislations run a serious risk of being the victim of them; I'm afraid it's too late.

Let's hope the people of Europe and the United States don't end up in the history books as the generation that willingly submitted to the exact same oppressive governments their grandparents fought against in World War II.

This song has been around for a while now, but by chance my MP3 player randomly selected it and just struck a chord. Every few weeks another piece of legislation is passed that restricts the rights of ordinary citizens or gives authorities the rights to monitor the actions of everyday people. Perhaps this song can be considered to be a sort of anthem for those who have had enough and want to take control of their lives back.