Helplessness Blues

Or it could be the opposite, maybe he wants to actually work for something instead of getting everything handed to you by the government (i.e. communism) communism never works my friend. It kinda sounds like he wants to just move to a rural area and run an orchard instead of getting a 9-5 or a factory job. <br /> <br /> <br /> The orchard verse is the very reason its not about communism. If he had an orchard, he would work his butt off until he is sore. I mean, in America, where I'm from, you gotta work for what you want, not get everything handed to you.<br /> <br /> And his lady can wait tables and "sing around the store" <br /> <br /> <br /> I mean really, do you think Robin would write about living in a communist society?

Honestly, I don't think his views about feeling 'unique' strike with communism. Surely the opposite?

iDrum: in communism, you have to work. Like Marx said, "from each according to his ability". So a communist would have to give it his all in his work. Regarding the orchard verse, from what I understand, in a Capitalist society, the worker doesn't own the orchard, it's owned by the capitalist class, and the actual worker is treated as a wage slave. That's why, at least from what I thought, our hero said "If I had an orchard". He's dreaming about the orchard being in the hands of the workers, and "I''ll work till I'm sore/raw", he's talking about living up to Marx's maxim of "from each according to his ability".<br /> <br /> snaggerpuss: I don't really know how to explain this, but Marx saw that capitalism "alienates" the worker from his human essence, and one of the way this happens is that the worker is robbed from his ability to manifest his individuality through his work. So the "unique snowflake" verse reminded me of this. Once again, I don't think I can explain it that good, maybe I'm wrong, I don't know.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I'm not a commie or anything, and I don't really know whether this interpretation was really what the writer had in mind when he wrote the song, but I think it could really fit the song.

I really like this interpretation a lot. I don't think it's probably what Robin had in mind when writing it, but I also think that our own interpretations of any form of art is what gives it its real meaning. <br /> <br /> I think this a very well thought out interpretation. I think the line "some day I'll be like the man on the screen" can also support this in the idea that some day when things are returned to the worker he will be like the bourgeoisie that he's seen always "on the screen" (or in the limelight, the only people who matter) and in power.<br /> <br /> In support of the orchard verses, I think you could take it as the idea that "if I (emphasis on I) had an orchard, I'd work till I'm raw/sore" where as in current capitalist society, if you are the one who owns the orchard, you are sitting back and managing things while others who work under you work until they're sore. And YOU will soon run the store, in typical capitalist society the under-employees never have a chance at this, they are always stuck doing under-work. In other words, if I was the one who owned an orchard, I would work the same jobs as those under me because we're all equally necessary for anything to succeed. I realize that in any society, socialist or capitalist, there obviously are distinct positions for people in a workplace and they don't literally interchange, but it still can support a broad idea that the working class is not something to be trampled by bourgeoisie.

Spot on. I also think its a sort of yearning for religion, specifically " I'd say I'd rather be / A functioning cog in some great machinery / Serving something beyond me" But in this capitalist and Godless age, he doesn't know what he could possibly believe in. Hence, the fantasy about simpler times in a communal orchard, where he could work and have faith and actually be happy.<br /> <br /> I think the most chilling part is the last line: "Someday I'll be like the man on the screen," acknowledging that even his fantasy world was gotten "from the screen," aka seen on TV or in movies, essentially mediated by the same capitalist machine he sought to escape.

This album seems to be about his struggle with his selfishness. being 25, and raised in the 80s and 90s, i think we all can remember being told we are special and different and completely unique from everyone else. he is raising the question "what effect does this have on you when your older?" The song demonstrates how he wants to be part of a community, "a functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me" but he is still struggling with the two concepts of community and individuality.<br /> "What's my name, what's my station<br /> Oh just tell me what I should do<br /> I don't need to be kind to the armies of night<br /> That would do such injustice to you<br /> Or bow down and be grateful<br /> And say "Sure take all that you see"<br /> To the men who move only in dimly-lit halls<br /> And determine my future for me"<br /> I dont believe this is a protest to capitalism, and going that route only reflects what you want the song to mean. Robin does not know what system to believe in, he is pointing out the flaws in both capitalism and socialism (or communism), and can not decide which is better. (a struggle we all can identify with).<br /> <br /> when saying "if i had an orchard/ I'd work till im soar" he only means that he will work hard in any system. if you notice is the song the shrine/an argument it says "green apples hang from my tree/ they belong only to me" again bringing up this struggle he is having with escaping his selfishness. Instead of sharing his money and work with a community, he keeps them for himself. Each songs meaning varies when put in context with the entire album, making this such a damn good album.

I agree with the interpretation of macroimaging, but think that it is not about socialism or communism in their pure forms, rather it is about the Cascadian Independence Movement. <br /> <br /> The Cascadian Independence movement is based on bioregionalism and promotes the secession of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia from their current nations. (Fleet Foxes are from Seattle, Washington). It's a movement that advocates for more direct, local democracy and a movement that critiques the power of corporations (and their disregard for worker/human rights and the environment) in the United States and abroad. <br /> <br /> I am almost positive this is what the song is about because I heard that the Cascadian Flag is on the back of the Fleet Foxes 'Helplessness Blues' album (although I am not sure, because I do not have the CD). Here is the website for the Cascadian Movement: cascadianow.org/ And the wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascadia_(independence_movement)