Sort of a Protest Song

I love this song, especially the line "I was a fireman in a time of fires". I can't come up with a clear interpretation of the song, though.

MGB songs do seem a little hard to interpret, don't they?

good tune.......it`s about not being able to stop anything from happening in this day and age , so he gives up and decides to take the world as it comes and be careless

I think it's about a relationship with a girl and being tired of being on edge, the whole "on again off again" Ross and Rachel relashionship shit. The feeling of always being close to the end of a relationship and having to coax her back again and again. IT's all very exhausting

This is definetly my favourite Matt Good tune. I've always had a passion for it for some reason and it always reminds me of so much science fiction I have read over my lifetime, the whole fireman issue reminds me of farenheit 451 by bradbury, and the whole robot part and walking around with my hand on my gun reminds me of roland from stephen king's dark tower series. It's always so much to take in, as if he is losing himself in everything or becoming paranoid hence the whole hand on the gun. It's just a fantastic song in general, I normally try not to read to deep into things but I have heard this song so many countless number of times and it's always great.

"it`s about not being able to stop anything from happening in this day and age" -flanbo86

That's how I interpret it, except even with all this he still gives a damn. "baby I ain't dimed...but yeah, it still keeps me up at night."

This song has even more meaning today, with curent Iraq war, soldier defending a cause they don't even like. Matt posted on his blog lately that this song could relate to many soldier out there fighting for something they don't even believe in, some US soldier have even replied to him on his website saying they felt like that... very "actual" song considering it has been writen before sept. 11.

I whole-heartedly agree with the fact that it could be about not being able to stop anything from happening in this day and age. I think that it is definitely written in a time when he must have been going from the frustration of knowing this to being at somewhat peace with it.

I sometimes feel that things should be done better today, but say to myself that i alone cannot do much. I guess that is just what everyone is saying in the spinning heads.

I agree with the interpretation that it is Matt realizing that the world is changing and there isnt anything that he can do about it. He is tired of fighting it and relinquishes in favor of just not caring anymore. The "robot heart for the robot boy who dreamed he was a lion" line in particular hits me hard every time. We all think of ourselves as rebellious and edgy and willing to stand up to the way things work for a better world. We have this fire in our teens for doing it all differently and not just accepting it all like we think our parents have. But as life wears on you over the years, you realize you weren't the lion you thought you were, you begin to realize that you are a robot like everyone else. And when you have a wife and a few kids, a mortgage, a career, and have put many of your dreams away, you find that your only choice is just to accept what you have and where you are and enjoy what you can in the moment (tonight, I'm gonna go out and have me some fun) and just not fight it anymore