In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
We smash the window
Popo don’t fuck around
As their cameras take pictures of us
We just laugh
We laugh
Because they can’t stop this
We can feel it in our bones
The future’s ours, yes it is
We can feel it in our bones
We drop the lighter into the gas
If the whole world is watching us
Let them watch us
Let them watch
They can’t stop this
We can feel it in our bones
The future’s ours, yes it is
We can feel it in our bones
Popo don’t fuck around
As their cameras take pictures of us
We just laugh
We laugh
Because they can’t stop this
We can feel it in our bones
The future’s ours, yes it is
We can feel it in our bones
We drop the lighter into the gas
If the whole world is watching us
Let them watch us
Let them watch
They can’t stop this
We can feel it in our bones
The future’s ours, yes it is
We can feel it in our bones
Lyrics submitted by coloursallofthetime
Kettling Lyrics as written by Kele Okereke Gordon Moakes
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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seems to be a pretty straightforward song about the London riots in 2011, which originated as a protest against the killing of a man by the police and turned into thousands of people (mainly teenagers) running around smashing their own cities up and stealing trainers.
'as the cameras take pictures of us we just laugh' - no one seemed bothered by CCTV or journalists - many rioters posed with the items they'd looted, leading to their arrests
'we drop the lighter into the gas' - various shops were burnt to the ground in a number of arson attacks around London
'if the whole world is watching us let them watch' - it felt like the eyes of the world were on the riots at the time. many of those involved said they were rioting because they felt ignored or obsolete to a government and society that was obsessed with other things - now they were (inter)national news, they were proud
'the future's ours' - hints at the fact it was pretty much only kids who were rioting
and the title of the song, Kettling, is a reference to the fact that rioters were kettled by the police in an attempt to control the large crowds that were involved.
wow, way too much explanation for a song that's pretty clear, but it's an awesome song so never mind
Cool I didn't know what it was about, now I do thanks
This song is about riots and is sung in the rioters' point of view.
Kettling is a crowd control method used by police to quell riots.
Depending on your own interpretation, Kettling can either be a protesters' anthem, or a ugly portrayal of the heinous looting and other crimes that rioters so often commit.
In the former interpretation, it makes sense, as the years leading up to the release of the song have seen democratic revolutions most notably in Egypt and Tunisia. Kele may have seen them as heroic and wrote this song to capture the reckless, young energy of the rioters, who captivated the world with their "righteous struggle", etc.
In the latter interpretation, it also makes sense. Kele could just be satirizing the self-righteous kids who proclaim "the future's ours" and then go and smash up a bunch of shops.
Ultimately, it's up to the listener. At the risk of sounding corny, like all revolutions this song has more than one meaning.