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Ancient Ways Lyrics
Ooh
Fuck the ancient ways
They are here to fore-show no claim
Ooh
Got the time, won't seek
They are oh still coming to pave the street
At the station
The city feeds us all like babes
And we've taken a bow
At the station
Ooh
Shape the flight of sound
Become beautifully bound
To the ground
Ooh
Fuck the ancient ways
They are ringing doorbells that let in my waste
At the station
The city needs us and all our rage
And surprise in your eyes
At the station
What we need, this empire grows
Every stage we will find
At the station
To be beaten by the weight of it
They are to be beaten by the weight
At the station
Come in people and enjoy the glow
Every change we allow
At the station
The city sees us all like babes
And we've taken a bow
At the station
To be beaten by the weight of it
They are beaten by the weight
At the station
Should we seek them for the sake of it?
Nay, we greet them right away
Fuck the ancient ways
They are here to fore-show no claim
Got the time, won't seek
They are oh still coming to pave the street
At the station
And we've taken a bow
At the station
Shape the flight of sound
Become beautifully bound
To the ground
Fuck the ancient ways
They are ringing doorbells that let in my waste
At the station
And surprise in your eyes
At the station
Every stage we will find
At the station
They are to be beaten by the weight
At the station
Every change we allow
At the station
And we've taken a bow
At the station
They are beaten by the weight
At the station
Nay, we greet them right away
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This is a great song!
I can't help thinking about the revolutions that happened all around the world in the beginning of this decade: the Arab Spring, for instance, and the riots in Brazil for less corruption in the government. The city is a great stage for all of that, and here Banks seems to celebrate that. "Oh, fuck the ancient ways/ They are heretofore/ Show no claim", means that people should not feel subdued to a power that is in government for a long period of time - and they shouldn't show mercy in representing all their dissatisfaction.
All the noise that usually follows a riot is represented in "Oh, shape the fight of sound/ Become beautifully bound to the ground". The constant mention of a supposed "station" may represent a place where people usually meet themselves to make this noise. In "Come in people and enjoy our glow/ Every change we allow", they clearly show that a change is needed and now is time for them perform it in the streets. "They are to be beaten to the weight of it" may show that the government is going to feel threatened by these manifestations.
By the end of the song, he seems to look for all that's bothering people: the social causes, personal dissatisfactions and unfulfilled promises. It's like he's saying: "Hey, guys, don't you think they [the government] should know all of this and make something about it?"
I interpret this song as a protest against the gentrification of the old New York (or any city) neighbourhoods.
All the "Ancient Ways" are the old enclaves, street corners, grand old houses, ma and pa grocery stores etc....The developers say "F**k the ancient ways", and pave them over with soul-less new developments.
"Beneath us an empire grows" of apartment blocks and supermarkets, and all the traditional ways are "beaten by the weight of it".