Not So Dense

My favorite song by Deer Tick by far. If I were to hazard a guess at the meaning of this song I'd have to start with the easiest and last verse. I can only assume he's talking about the destruction of rural america by industrialization. As with much of Mccauley's lyrics, despair is the main theme, especially in the chorus: "Despair and disease spread on dollar bills. Convenience, well it strips you bare of consciousness." I can only assume this fits the description of capitalism and the spread of advanced technology and how it's stripped us all of a consciousness of the earth. There's a lot more to the song it seems, maybe someone else can clear up the rest of the verses.

I agree with your general summary. This song does indeed rock!

I get the message that most humans want to do good and set out to, yet it is very hard to stay on that path. No one is perfect and maybe humans were set here to self destruct. "But you know yourself to well to ever be saint" meaning only we know who we really are, no one can fill the void we have of perfect beings. The line "we got no reason to feel sure" pretty much sums it up for me. this is all opinion by the way.

I often speculate when listening to this about the meaning of the line:

"Well it's okay 'cause the kids are making models of God out of paper mache"

I wonder if it's something to do around false idols.

The song is a frustration with everything taught to us and a realization that none of it makes sense or matters, it's about the despair of accepting nihilism. "Have you ever fallen down so hard that everything shakes" - he's using this as a metaphor for realizing the foundation of his beliefs were falling apart, "Well it's ok 'cause kids are making models of God out of paper-mache" - a sarcastic dig at indoctrination, as well as painting a picture of how mass indoctrination leads to a lack of meaning which can be applied to nationalism such as toilet paper with the American flag on it. "Well there ain't no arrows on the moon And there ain't no wishes on the stars And there ain't no hero in your world We got no reason to feel sure" the realization and danger of beliefs, when you realize the tooth fairy isn't real you can apply that logic to everything questionable or magical. "And if you don't drink your milk young man you know it'll turn sour" - another sarcastic dig at the idea of something we are taught is bullshit except this time he points at marketing using slogans to make money off of people who will believe anything. "And I watch 60 minutes go by hour after hour after hour" - the acceptance and difficulty adjusting to the idea that nothing has meaning or significance and all that's left is decay. There is certainly an aspect of ignorance is bliss being presented but with a sudden crumbling of a foundation of life, this is the feeling in the days, weeks and sometimes years after.