The Righteous Path

This song reminds me of two of my friends, Rob and Mike. Both were wild in high school and college (drunk every weekend, smoking pot, lots of sex, road trips to Mardis Gras, etc.). Rob found a girl, got married, had kids, got a good job, built a house in the suburbs, quit smoking, cut way back on drinking. He goes to church with the family every Sunday, but will confide in his close friends that he doesn't really get anything out of it. Mike kept doing drugs, can't hold down a job, never got married. If you ask him, he'd tell you he's trying to get his life together ("trying to stay focused on the righteous path"), but he keeps relapsing into his old habits.

They have very similar personalities, but Rob found a way to control his impulses, while Mike didn't. Occasionally, Rob will have too much to drink and the old Rob will show up. I think that is the "thin, thin line" separating their two minds.

Interesting little song.

At first blush, it seems like "American Beauty," illustrating suburban ennui by telling a story of the inevitable dissatisfaction that comes from a life spent vigorously keeping up with the Joneses. But there's a major departure between those stories and these: rather than getting so fed up with this modern excuse of the American Dream and doing something drastic, our narrator simply holds steady to it. He's perfectly aware that it's screwed up ("these messed up times,") and that not everyone can deal with it (references to his friend), but for whatever reason he thinks it's beyond his role in society to challenge them ("Ain't bitching bout things that aren't in my grasp").

Unlike the other comments on here, I don't see anything to indicate that Hood is passing any kind of moral judgment on the character, all I see is a great character illustration. Nor do I see any developed class struggle or, God forbid, fascist theocracy (where did that come from?). I think it's a simple character story.

This song reminds me of two of my friends. They went to high school together and did a lot of partying and were generally irresponsible throughout their 20s. However, a few years ago, one found a good woman, got a steady job, sobered up, and started a family. The other continued to party, wrecked his car, lost his job, and had his house foreclosed on. Both would tell you they are trying to stay on the righteous path, but only one has been successful in doing so. Each could easily have ended up going down the path that the other took. The one who became successful need only to make one of his old mistakes (a night of heavy drinking/drug use or having an affair) to throw it all away. Thus, it is a "thin, thin line" separating their lives.

I think this song is about the two opposite ends of the class system in the same town. One's about a guy who has good kids, a beautiful wife, a new car, a nice house, and money but doesn't know God but still wants to stay on the righteous path. The other end of the spectrum is about a blue collar worker who just lives from paycheck to paycheck and likes to get drunk on the weekends but still wants to stay on the right way with God. The friend I think is the blue collar worker's real identity that he tries to conceal but he knows he has trouble.

Two friends, same upbringing, and one isn't doing so well as the other. I imagine they spent some time in jail (or juvie) when they were young, and the guy who is singing has bettered his life. His friend "can't get it right, no matter how he tries".

I feel it's about two guys who grew up in similar backgrounds and are both trying to stay on a "rightous path." But for whatever reasons one of 'em has the good life and the other has a tough life.

I think it is one man, speaking about his own life and how he has everything that an American man in his 30's is supposed to want and yet he feels like he struggles everyday to keep it all together. He is comparing himself to his friend from back in high school who made all of the wrong decisions, is viewed as failure at life by society in general, and basically has nothing. The lyrics detail the differences in their lives and lifestyles and similarities in the internal struggles that they face each day regardless of their respective lots in life.

What appears to be a character story on the surface is actually a commentary on the life of typical American men in their 30's.

It's not about a single person, it's about all people in general. We have an economy going down the shitter, we are running out of gas, we are becomming dumber every year, we have all these mindless activities, and we are slowly moving toward this faschist theocrary in America. This song is basically making fun of the Average American.