Kemosabe

Play on the relationship between iconic figures of the Lone Ranger and Tonto (Kemosabe), his faithful sidekick. Song's protagonist paints himself as the Lone Ranger, here a fallen man who is supposed to be a hero / cultural icon of America, reflecting on how he has done terrible things. It's implied Tonto is gone, likely killed in the scene described in the end of the second verse ('You wasn't there when I orphaned that boy, / (NO!) Your body was, and the white of your rollin' eye / I saw some terrible things on that night').

Without Tonto, the Lone Ranger is confronted again & again with the fact that he's really 'alone', plagued by it, and this line -- 'Nobody checking on all of my deeds, I need a checker for all of my deeds', and the wail that carries throughout the song that he's alone and crying out for his lost friend, likely points to the Lone Ranger as symbolic of America, having either lost any 'sidekick' would could have exerted a moderating force on the country's behaviour, or, more likely, having never really had any such sidekick to begin with...

(The extermination of the indigenous people of the Americas by the settlers: 'a string of genocide campaigns by Europeans and their descendants...the most massive act of genocide in the history of the world'--author David Stannard, 'American Holocaust')

See how the song itself references holocaust, also a trilobite (fossil of extinct marine animal), and the violent imagery throughout. The Lone Ranger fears himself as an unchecked force, but the song casts him as both a present-day figure ('reaching for my phone') and a figure out of history trapped in time reliving memories on an endless loop ('But there's no silver bullet for a memory I, / Field dress every moment but you're telling me that Tonto say / I've lost my way!')

The song ends after the dreamy reflection over the dilemma, before finally it's all cast aside (lost and drained, enough genuflecting in a penitent way) and it's 'Yippee-kayay!' and 'Hi-O Silver away!'--he's riding off into the sunset alone, he can't help himself.

Great song, not sure about the video, I think they could have done more with it. Song sounds like it's about the Lone Ranger, maybe it's about a guy that feels like he's the Lone Ranger because he's always on his own?

Incredible song. Wow

Possibly the War In Iraq or any War that America has been in, and the f'ed up thing/things the soldiers may of done? Then feeling completely alone realizing that they don't even know what they're fighting for anymore or why?

"And our war is the crucible of all your longing at the border, At the, at the border I'm at the border, at the, at the border I was there when the clamour got real I was there when your brow smashed the wall It's like a riot with only two perps, the more I'm here I'm making it worse But does it feel like you're already dead? (YES!) And do you feel like your brain stopped delivering? Yeah break my finger shoot out my black eyes, What does it matter if everyone dies? Hey Kemosabe I'm alone! Ayah! I am a! I am alone!"

You wasn't there when I orphaned that boy, (NO!) Your body was, and the white of your rollin' eye I saw some terrible things on that night, I done a lot of bad things with my life

"I put my fingers in thee, And I breeze past security! Nobody checking on all of my deeds, I need a checker for all of my deeds Hey Kemosabe I'm alone! Ayah! I am a! I am alone!"

I still like dianaodd's interpretation better. Just looking at it from a different angle.

Jonathan: "It’s one of the more Man Alive clusterfuck songs in some ways. It’s about turbulent relationships and feeling alone even if you are with somebody. It’s playing off the Lone Ranger and his relationship with Tonto. The fact that he’s the Lone Ranger despite – well, he’s always been Tonto. I always thought that was funny and a bit weird. And I liked the language: Yippeekayay and Hiyo Silver and Kemosabe."

http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/track-by-track-features/everything-everything-arc-2-115571

Incredible song, amazing lyrics, but I laugh every time he goes "IIIAIIIIAIII'm alooooone."

I love this song!!! but is kalashnikoving even a word?