Harold Bloom

I don't know what Cold War Kids intended when they wrote these lyrics, but this is what it means to me when I hear the song.

The first stanza appears to be talking about the process of creativity, particularly as it applies to poets and songwriters. Writer's block.

"So don't lift your heroes up so high/that you can't touch."

Don't admire your heroes so much that you feel you can't make your own mark in this world.

It's also about the critic, Harold Bloom's theories regarding new poets. New poets idolize the poets that have gone before them, so much so, it can stymie their own writing. They think that they cannot possibly write anything that hasn't been written before. This philosophy of Bloom's is a reoccurring theme throughout these lyrics.

The "guardians at the gate" let you into their world of rich imagination. You are so enthralled with its beauty you wonder why you can't create something as magnificent. (There are many other ways to interpret these lines.)

How does one become wise?

"Can you be wise if you never leave the room?"

This is a reference to experience vs. the formal halls of knowledge. True wisdom is not what you read alone, but what you experience when you go out into the world. Not all learning takes place in an academic setting.

Harold Bloom was a philosopher as well as a critic. He spent most of his life teaching and writing about other people's works. Maybe he needed to get out more often.

In summation, if you let critics get into your head, you will never write anything. There will always be more critics like Harold Bloom to poke holes in your work.

The irony of the song by Cold War Kids is that their lyrics are criticizing the critic.