If You Can See Me

This song is about a demon, a literal spiritual entity viewing mankind and speaking its violent mind.

"If you can see me I can see you" Demons are known to watch everyone, at all times, you think it's only the angels watching you? They rarely if ever manifest themselves but if they do you can know they've been watching you your whole life.

"I could wear your new blue shoes I should wear your old red dress And walk to the crossroads So take this knife And meet me across the river"

This string of lines is symbolic more than anything, it's an opener to the twisted mind of the demon, setting the mood to murder.

"Just shoots and ladders and this is the kiss American ? From nowhere to nothing And I go way back"

It's just a game to the demon, "I go way back" is a clue to it being a timeless entity who was here from the beginning.

"Children swarm like thousands of bugs Towards the lights the beacons above the hill The stars to the West, the South, the North and to the East"

How this being sees humans, "bugs" swarming to "light".

"Now you could say I've got a gift of sorts A fear of rear windows and swinging doors A love of violence and dread of sighs"

The demon's "gift" is "A love of violence and dread of sighs"

"If you can see me I can see you If you can see me I can see you"

Usually invisible to our dimension this demon brags that we can never see it, unless it happens to manifest itself, it's the real key to the song, it all relates to the 'watching' the 'seeing' the 'all seeing eye', which is seen in many places of pop-culture from 'eye of mordor' to the back of the dollar bill supposed illuminati pyramid eye, the eye of horus, etc, it's a favorite piece of symbolism to the demonic watchers.

"I have seen these bairns wave their fists at God Swear to destroy the beasts, stamping the ground In their excitement for tomorrow I could wear your new blue shoes I should wear your old red dress And walk to the crossroads So take this knife And meet me across the river"

This being has seen it all, including barbaric men "wave their fists at God Swear to destroy the beasts, stamping the ground In their excitement for tomorrow"

"I will take your lands and all that lays beneath The dust of cold flowers, prison of dark of ashes I will slaughter your kind who descend from belief I am the spirit of greed, a lord of theft I'll burn all your books and the problems they make"

This is the final end statement from the demon, even the voice is reverse echoed in these lines adding a demonic feel to them, like all demons it only seeks to have a voice and attempt to display it's wisdom and hatred for humans,

"I will slaughter your kind who descend from belief"

It will destroy anyone who falls away from the faith, a standard procedure for demons.

"I am the spirit of greed, a lord of theft"

A proclamation of the demon's expertise "greed & theft".

"I'll burn all your books and the problems they make"

Without mentioning what books, we can assume it refers to sacred texts that it so despises.

Take it or leave it, but this is the true meaning of this song. You can ask David himself.

Nice exegesis. How about this, too: it's about American fundamentalists who use mediaeval language mixed with the highest technology to wage war on their own infidel (oil owning states)

just the title reminds me of the drone in Syriana (the George Clooney film) which spies on his meeting then bombs him... does he not say (to his CIA masters in that movie "If you can see me, I can see you"?