A Children's Crusade On Acid

I know this probably isn't what it's about, but it reminds me of a sexual predator.

"Sarah, settle down, put your helmet on,"

Like he's mentally warning her to get ready for the struggle that is about to take place.

"Walk these streets of gold with cigarettes you hand rolled"

Pretty obvious. I got the visual that this was a kid about 16 or so who is trying to be cool and caught this guy's attention.

"I don't know you, and I don't owe you a thing."

Which makes him feel better about attacking her.

"But I smile so hard it hurts just when things get worse. You said you've woken from a dream, abandoned by your mother could this be?"

He's talking to her, and making an emotional attachment as she tells him about her problems at home. He acts sympathetic, but he's happy internally because if she trusts him, he might be able to rape her/have sex with her easier. On the other hand...

"Satan, settle down, keep your trousers on, you can warm the globe but leave my wretched soul alone."

He's fighting his inner monster.

"I don't know you and I don't owe you a thing."

He doesn't owe "Satan" anything. He hasn't willingly sold his soul to do evil, so he wants this part of him to go away.

"But the children lose their minds in such uncertain times."

Children = his victims, probably young girls. Minors. Uncertain times = the aftermath of the rape.

"And I'm woken from a dream, surrounded by my lovers. oh, woe is me!"

His "lovers" are, again, the victims. They haunt him in his sleep.

"And a hundred thousand times a day, the yellow lights turn red."

He wishes it would all just stop. He's given opportunities to slow down and back off, but evidently he never takes them.

"And a hundred thousand miles away, I'm turning myself in, oh, Christ, I am."

He wishes he had the strength to do this.

So yeah. That's my interpretation, although it's most likely wrong because he's mentioned Sara in not-sexual-predator songs. Unless this was, in reality, a part of Sara's past, and he's imagining it from the predator's point of view.

"children's crusade" is also the alternate title of "slaughterhouse five" by kurt vonnegut.

"You know we've had to imagine the war here, and we have imagined that it was being fought by aging men like ourselves. We had forgotten that wars were fought by babies. When I saw those freshly shaved faces, it was a shock "My God, my God–" I said to myself. "It's the Children's Crusade." " -Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut

I see this song as a comment on war...the "oh Christ, I am" is similar to the quote above, and the comment about being a hundred thousand miles away can relate to this as well. "Children lose their minds" and "abandoned by your mother" imply war fought by children. Something to think about.

"and a hundred thousand times a day the yellow lights turn red and a hundred thousand miles away i'm turning myself in"

Love.

oh, Christ, I am.

this song is obviously about richard's experiences on acid. what amazes me about this song is how profound it is. the first verse is probably just about a girl sarah who he tripped with, having rolled cigarettes for the trip she sees streets of gold... laughs so hard it hurts (happened to me many times) and maybe she had a bad trip about her mother.

the second verse though... i think richard is referring to corporations or government that create (or fabricate [depending on your beliefs]) "global warming". he is aware of their plan to... for the lack of a better phrase... take over the world (leave my wretched soul alone) be it through ideological/financial/political domination. he has no part in it nor does he plan on it (i dont know you/i dont owe you a thing).

my favorite line in this song has to be "but the children lose their minds/in such uncertain times"... he seems to be talking about our generation who more and more is awaking to the reality of this f'ed up world. i (having expiremented with psychedelics) have literally lost my mind thinking of what will happen in the future and wha t we can do about it... such uncertainty with war, global warming, politics, increasing natural disasters....

the last comment i want to make is with the last line "oh christ i am". i think edward's is referencing the ever increasingly popular "new age" movement that embraces free will and the belief that you are your own god. i have noticed a lot of people have been abandoning organized religion and been taking up eastern philosophy or other beliefs that deny the existence of a god... other than yourself obviously. its interesting how fast this idea is spreading

i don't think it has anything to do with acid. i took it as a metaphor. like the kids are in this "golden" city and have lost their minds.

correct me if i'm wrong, but to me this song is about losing your way - in such uncertain times.

"you said you've woken from a dream, abandoned by your mother" i think the girl feels abandoned my her mother. like she never cared. so she puts on this armour/this "helmet" of protection.

i think "smiling so hard it hurts, just when things get worse" is about faking a smile when you're at your worst "woe is me!"

i think the reference to satan is about how lightly the world shrugs off sin in this day and age. "keep your trousers on"

i think he's unhappy with the person he's become - "i'm turning myself in. oh, christ i am."

that's vaguely what it means to me. amazing to see the different perspectives.

i wonder who sarah is. it's not the first time the name sarah has been mentioned in the lyrics.

Sarah in the Bible is Abraham's wife.

he talks about Satan the ruler of man since the fall of man (but G-d calls us back to him and freedom and eternal life in paradise thru his Son Christ Jesus) and how he is currently "warming" the world into his "hell on earth." For Satan is The Deceiver and he hates you and wants to pull you into his world of control and eternal damnation. he references this in the way he says the children lose their minds. aka the children of G-d losing their minds to The Deceiver and confusion and chaos rules them. but in the Bible we are told that thru his Son Christ Jesus, G-d will have his victory over Satan and win his children back.

and it sounds like in the verse he is giving himself to Christ.

i meant in the last verse