Virginia State Epileptic Colony

Manic Street Preachers

They sit around tables rendered dumb
Colored sticks of chalk are passed around
Today the doctors allow the illusion of choice
Tomorrow the necks split, there is no voice

Draw a perfect circle, sleep fetus-like
Six chalk colors the very meaning of life
They wake to strobes and half circled light
Confusion lifts with potassium percolate

V-S-E-C piggy
Piggy piggy
Piggy piggy

Clean cooking flower-arranging
Dissolves a kind of liberation


Lyrics submitted by deltasunlight

Virginia State Epileptic Colony Lyrics as written by Nicholas Jones James Bradfield

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Virginia State Epileptic Colony song meanings
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7 Comments

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  • +1
    General CommentPresumably this is about the Virginia eugenics programme.
    TomosANTIGUATomoson May 22, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General CommentTo me, I saw it as meaning the way doctors just give us a load of pills and think that everything's ok... meaning we go back home, do the cleaning and cooking and flower arranging and comply to the capitalist society we live in. Hence the way it "dissolves a kind of liberation".

    But of course, reading Tomos' reply... I'd guess it is about that. :P
    Owen999on May 23, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General CommentYeah, I think the "cleaning, cooking flower arranging" bit is about how none of us are really free/liberated, we all conform to society.
    ShakerMaker1994on June 01, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General CommentThis definitely was influenced by Richey’s stay in a mental institution. In institutions they keep the patients sedate so they’re easily controllable (“They sit around tables rendered dumb“), and give them menial activities like arts and crafts, in addition to making them do chores to keep them occupied. (“Cleaning cooking and flower arranging. Dissolves a kind of liberation.”) I believe it’s also drawing a comparison to institution life and working class life, the same way Small Black Flowers drew comparisons to captive zoo animals and humans held captive by oppressive society. Your boss is your doctor, your duties at work keep you too occupied to put up a fight for control, ect. I have absolutely no idea what the “Piggy” chant means.
    MBlackon June 11, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Commentanyone who is interested should read this

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
    jonnybassmanon August 31, 2009   Link
  • 0
    TranslationNever saw translation of the Russian lines in this song on Englsh. But I'm Russian, so here is it if there are someone who's interesred: "Stupidity of the rulers. Fatal disease. The silence of millions of witnesses. Envy of the workshop. Exile. Diligence. There (meaning "that way") in a state prison suit, just ponder upon these words, on eternal settlement."

    And I also have a question - does anyone know, if these lines are taken from some book or movie or anything? If no then is it Richey who wrote them, or they were added later by Nicky or someone else from the band?
    MsNothingon January 25, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Commenthighschoolbioethics.georgetown.edu/units/cases/…

    "... the facility embarked on an ill-advised program of involuntary sterilization, combined with routine appendectomies, of so-called 'mental defectives with cacogenic potentialities' ..." cvtc.dbhds.virginia.gov/…

    uvm.edu/~lkaelber/eugenics/VA/…

    Leave it to Richey to write a lyric about this.
    a.10684121on December 22, 2016   Link

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