Criminals

Official lyrics :

There were days when you thought you would just go under and the weekends that you never understood when you flew from the bar only seventeen you didn’t bleed and no one ever thought you would And there where straights and lines and every sorts of options to stay away from broken mirrors in your friends but the summer was strung with some mighty thread and no law would never wait around no bend Come see the hiding in rain, come see the stillness in all them ones Come see the loveable strain of someone diving for all you know Come see the strain of a reeling tribe Come meet the criminals, this Napoleon ride And there were the nights when you thought we would just surrender to the stories of the miracles of gulls when you flew from your sheets where your hours gone you never sleep and no one ever thought you would Come see the hiding in rain, come see the stillness in all them ones Come see the loveable strain of someone diving for all you know Come see the strain of a reeling tribe Come meet the criminals, of this Napoleon ride There are illusions and then just not even wanting to walk around a shiny peak of snow what a picture that is to be saved for us how it’s standing like it’s just for us to know there was a time in my life when I was carried by all of you now I run like a man still don’t know what I dive into Come see the strain of a reeling tribe Come meet the criminals, this Napoleon ride.

I think this song is about someone who left his life in the city to spend time in the wilderness. He went to the wilderness where there was no 'law around the bend'

I like the lyric, "Come see the hiding in rain, come see the stillness in all them ones." There is something special about being out away from the roads and buildings, hiding from the rain in your tent or under a tree. And there is also something very special about the stillness in nature when you get away from everyone.

"And there were the nights when you thought we would just surrender," tells me that he spent some very cold nights outside and he was tempted to come back to the comfort of the city. Similarly, "when you flew from your sheets where your hours gone, you never sleep and no one ever thought you would," points out that he left his sheets to go sleep somewhere where he never really slept all that well.

"There are illusions and then just not even wanting, to walk around a shiny peak of snow, what a picture that is to be saved for us, how it’s standing like it’s just for us to know" - This reminds me of how the outdoors can have this romantic illusion that it is this blissful place, but in reality it is truly wilderness and very difficult to live in. There are times when we don't want to go out into the cold. As such, the wilderness isn't where we call home, but it's rather something we visit and then daydream about later on.

He changes to first person, "there was a time in my life when I was carried by all of you, now I run like a man still don’t know what I dive into." I think this says that the man in the song is kristian himself and that this life of escaping the city to the wilderness was what he once lived by. And even now he still finds himself running away to adventures.

No idea what this has to do with Napoleon though.

I believe this one is about alcoholism or some form of damaging behaviour (like Little Brother)

This also perfectly fits his comment that it is about "cold, cold Sweden". Northern European countries have a very high consumption of both coffee and alcohol due to their long and harsh winters.

There were days when you thought you would just go under and the weekends that you never understood when you flew from the bar only seventeen you didn’t bleed and no one ever thought you would <<

Depression or personal problems lead to drinking. He was thrown out of a bar at 17, but everyone assumed this was a singular episode, not a real issue.

And there where straights and lines and every sorts of options to stay away from broken mirrors in your friends but the summer was strung with some mighty thread and no law would never wait around no bend<<

His family/friends tried to help him, get him into some sort of program ("every sorts of options") in order to prevent damaging behaviour from happening again. But in summer he relapsed and there was nothing to stop him from drinking/substance abuse.

Chorus:

Come see the hiding in rain, come see the stillness in all them ones Come see the loveable strain of someone diving for all you know Come see the strain of a reeling tribe Come meet the criminals of this Napoleon ride<<

This is the only tricky part of the lyrics, but I'm quite sure he recalls what it was like to be really drunk... "diving for all you know" could mean drinking so much you don't remember anything the next day. "reeling" literally fits the theme. "Napoleon ride" as well - Napoleon Bonaparte apparently was a strong drinker.

There are illusions and I just not even want some to walk around a shiny peak of snow what a picture that is to be saved for us how it’s standing like it’s just for us to know<<

He was close to using harder stuff, but luckily didn't - now this memory is a frightening reminder.

there was a time in my life when I was carried by all of you now I run like a man still don’t know what I dive into Come see the strain of a reeling tribe Come meet the criminals, this Napoleon ride.<<

Again, self explanatory and perfectly fits the theme.

Little mistake there: "you know i would never wait around, oh" I guess it's more "wait around no bend"

Before he performed this song on 6/9/13 at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, GA, he said:

"This one is about cold, cold Sweden"

Napoleon like Hitler had his ass kicked by the cold of Russia. This Napoleon Ride? Yeah, just blew your mind.

"Miracle of gulls" seems like a key to this, for some reason. I'm having a lot more success with a thought track where this works on "Jonathan Livingston Seagull", but that might just be because it's a personal favorite.