Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
This isn't your song, this isn't your music
How can there be wrong, when by committee
They choose it all, they choose it all
You're gonna grow old, you're gonna grow cold
Bearing signs on the avenues, for your own personal Waterloo
You're bearing signs on the avenue for your own personal Waterloo, now
We'll fight, we'll fight
We'll fight for your music halls and dying cities
They'll fight, they'll fight
They'll fight for your neural walls and plasticities
And precious territory, and precious territory, and precious territory
This isn't our song, this isn't even a musical
Think life is too long, to be a whale in a cubicle
Nails under your cuticle
Gonna grow old, you're gonna grow so cold
Before the sun can deliver you, you're bearing signs on the avenue
You're bearing signs for your own personal Waterloo, now
We'll fight, we'll fight
We'll fight for your music halls and dying cities
They'll fight, they'll fight
They'll fight for your neural walls and plasticities
And precious territory, and precious territory, and precious territory
How can there be wrong, when by committee
They choose it all, they choose it all
You're gonna grow old, you're gonna grow cold
Bearing signs on the avenues, for your own personal Waterloo
You're bearing signs on the avenue for your own personal Waterloo, now
We'll fight, we'll fight
We'll fight for your music halls and dying cities
They'll fight, they'll fight
They'll fight for your neural walls and plasticities
And precious territory, and precious territory, and precious territory
This isn't our song, this isn't even a musical
Think life is too long, to be a whale in a cubicle
Nails under your cuticle
Gonna grow old, you're gonna grow so cold
Before the sun can deliver you, you're bearing signs on the avenue
You're bearing signs for your own personal Waterloo, now
We'll fight, we'll fight
We'll fight for your music halls and dying cities
They'll fight, they'll fight
They'll fight for your neural walls and plasticities
And precious territory, and precious territory, and precious territory
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Step
Ministry
Ministry
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
I'd say this continues the theme of The Individual vs. Media/Government/Society/WhatHaveYou. I like the wordplay of "neural walls and plasticities." I see it as both "walls and cities" and as a reference to neuroplasticity; it addresses both the individual brain/mind and the social/physical environment.