We are building a religion
We are building it bigger
We are widening the corridors
And adding more lanes
We are building a religion
A limited edition
We are now accepting callers
For these pendant key chains
To resist it is useless
It is useless to resist it
His cigarette is burning
But he never seems to ash
He is grooming his poodle
He is living comfort eagle
You can meet at his location
But you'd better come with cash
Now his hat is on backwards
He can show you his tattoos
He is in the music business
He is calling you "DUDE!"
Now today is tomorrow
And tomorrow today
And yesterday is weaving in and out
And the fluffy white lines
That the airplane leaves behind
Are drifting right in front
Of the waning of the moon
He is handling the money
He is serving the food
He knows about your party
He is calling you "DUDE!"
Now do you believe
In the one big sign
The double wide shine
On the boot heels of your prime
Doesn't matter if you're skinny
Doesn't matter if you're fat
You can dress up like a sultan
In your onion head hat
We are building a religion
We are making a brand
We're the only ones to turn to
When your castles turn to sand
Take a bite of this apple
Mr. corporate events
Take a walk through the jungle
Of cardboard shanties and tents
Some people drink Pepsi
Some people drink Coke
The wacky morning DJ
Says democracy's a joke
He says now do you believe
In the one big song
He's now accepting callers
Who would like to sing along
He says, do you believe
In the one true edge
By fastening your safety belts
And stepping towards the ledge
He is handling the money
He is serving the food
He is now accepting callers
He is calling me "DUDE!"
He says now do you believe
In the one big sign
The double wide shine
On the boot heels of your prime
There's no need to ask directions
If you ever lose your mind
We're behind you
We're behind you
And let us please remind you
We can send a car to find you
If you ever lose your way
We are building a religion
We are building it bigger
We are building
A religion
A limited
Edition
We are now accepting callers
For these beautiful
Pendant key chains
We are building it bigger
We are widening the corridors
And adding more lanes
We are building a religion
A limited edition
We are now accepting callers
For these pendant key chains
To resist it is useless
It is useless to resist it
His cigarette is burning
But he never seems to ash
He is grooming his poodle
He is living comfort eagle
You can meet at his location
But you'd better come with cash
Now his hat is on backwards
He can show you his tattoos
He is in the music business
He is calling you "DUDE!"
Now today is tomorrow
And tomorrow today
And yesterday is weaving in and out
And the fluffy white lines
That the airplane leaves behind
Are drifting right in front
Of the waning of the moon
He is handling the money
He is serving the food
He knows about your party
He is calling you "DUDE!"
Now do you believe
In the one big sign
The double wide shine
On the boot heels of your prime
Doesn't matter if you're skinny
Doesn't matter if you're fat
You can dress up like a sultan
In your onion head hat
We are building a religion
We are making a brand
We're the only ones to turn to
When your castles turn to sand
Take a bite of this apple
Mr. corporate events
Take a walk through the jungle
Of cardboard shanties and tents
Some people drink Pepsi
Some people drink Coke
The wacky morning DJ
Says democracy's a joke
He says now do you believe
In the one big song
He's now accepting callers
Who would like to sing along
He says, do you believe
In the one true edge
By fastening your safety belts
And stepping towards the ledge
He is handling the money
He is serving the food
He is now accepting callers
He is calling me "DUDE!"
He says now do you believe
In the one big sign
The double wide shine
On the boot heels of your prime
There's no need to ask directions
If you ever lose your mind
We're behind you
We're behind you
And let us please remind you
We can send a car to find you
If you ever lose your way
We are building a religion
We are building it bigger
We are building
A religion
A limited
Edition
We are now accepting callers
For these beautiful
Pendant key chains
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God Bless CAKE :D
The only thing I can add is that the 'onion head hat' may be related to the cowboy hats that cake had to sport at concerts and videos. Didn't seem like their style. Although they may have musical roots in country and western, the outfits and the look seemed forced. It probably went down like this:
DJ: We got the right market for your sound. We just need to make a few changes.
Cake: We enjoy our artistic freedoms. Can't we just be ourselves?
DJ: Dude, this will totally work, you have a western twang on some of your songs.
Mr. Corporate Events: Everyone will be two steppin to your songs and I *I mean* we'll make lots of money. Or else no more recordings.
Cake: I don't know
DJ: Come on Dude!
Mr. Corporate Events: Trust us. In fact we got your cowboy hats and outfits right here.
-We are building a religion
-We are building it bigger
-We are widening the corrodors
-And adding more lanes
Our society... cities getting larger, highways getting thicker. Our 'story' is much like a religion, a tale of creation (see Ishmael).
-We are building a religion
-A limited edition
-We are now accepting callers
-for the pendant key chains
Limited edition- we are living in this world as if it's a one-shot deal
-To resist it is useless
-It is useless to resist it
-His cigarette is burning
-But he never seems to ash
You can't resist the progress of society.
Cigarette burning- natural resources
Keyword is 'seems'... it seems like we'll never run out.
Also, lung cancer is inevitable at this point :)
-He is grooming his poodle
-He is living comfort eagle
-You can meet at his location
-But you better come with cash
The grooming of the poodle implies an aristocratic cluelessness.
Comfort eagle is an allusion to american culture.
The cash is just general capitalism bashing.
-Now his hat is on backwards
-He can show you his tatoos
-He is in the music buisiness
-He is calling you "DUDE!"
Perhaps this is just alluding to how affable Mr Capitalistic Society is. Or it's jibberish. :)
-Now today is tomorrow
-And tomorrow today
-And yesterday is weaving in and out
Everything's the same, the past keeps repeating and we keep making the same mistakes.
-And the fluffy white lines
-That the airplane leaves behind
-Are drifting right in front
-of the waning of the moon
This one's probably wrong, but I'll go ahead and say pollution. We all look at it as "oh how cute, a byproduct of our society," but it's blocking out the moon (nature).
-He is handling the money
-He's serving the food
-He knows about your party
-He is calling you "DUDE!"
Handling the money and serving the food... basically the way our society is set up.
And once again, affable Mr Capitalistic Society.
-Now do you believe
-In the one big sign
-The doublewide shine
-On the boot-heels of your prime
I can't figure this one out. Are we licking the boot-heels of our 'prime' days and trying to replicate them so much that they double-wide shine? Yeah, I'll go with that.
-Doesn't matter if you're skinny
-Doesn't matter if you're fat
-You can dress up like a sultan
-In your onion-head hat
Society doesn't care what you are, so long as it can use you.
-We are building a religion
-We are making a brand
-We're the only ones to turn to
-When your castles turn to sand
More capitalism/commercialism mockery.
-Take a bite of this apple
-Mr. Corporate Events
-Take a walk through the jungle
-Of cardboard shanties and tents
Reference to Eden. See the book Ishmael by Danielle Quinn if you want a good explanation of exactly what this is talking about.
Basically, by biting the apple (rejecting the natural order of the world and controlling our own environment), we have traded one inhospitable jungle for another. This line is brilliant. Obviously, cardboard shanties and tents refers to homeless and poor.
-Some people drink Pepsi
-Some people drink Coke
-The wacky morning DJ
-Says democracy's a joke
This can be interpreted as "some people vote for candidate 1, some people vote for candidate 2" but the voting doesn't matter because both serve the same purpose and cause the same negative impacts. Many people can't even tell the difference between Pepsi and Coke, as many people can't tell the difference between Democrats and Republicans, or even more literally oligopolies or anything. This could merely express general apathy toward our society.
-He says, "Now do you believe
-In the one big song?"
-He's now accepting callers
-Who would like to sing along
More group-think mentality. If you believe in what society is doing, express it, live it up, and also get your 2 minutes of fame on the radio station.
-She says, "Do you believe
-In the one true edge,
-By fastening your safety belts
-And stepping towards the ledge?"
Now I'm almost certain this is referencing the book Ishmael. Go read it.
Essentially, by placing all of our society into one basket, we are all getting into a plane that we don't know will fly and jumping off the ledge.
-There's no need to ask directions
-If you ever lose your mind
-We're behind you
-We're behind you
-And let us please remind you
-We can send a car to find you
-If you ever lose your way
Allusion to group-think mentality. Society keeps marching on in the same direction and you're stuck going that way even if you're stupid/lost/whatever.
The "car to find you" probably refers to big brother.
I believe:
-The doublewide shine
-On the boot-heels of your prime
refers to the dollar sign, which is also the "big sign". Think of the two stripes it has, usually in gold and shining.
I believe:
-The doublewide shine
-On the boot-heels of your prime
refers to the dollar sign, which is also the "big sign". Think of the two stripes it has, usually in gold and shining. Maybe he is imagining this is the wealthy's boot heal print.
"Take a bite of this apple, Mr. Corporate Events,"
Refers to a 'fall from grace' (i.e. Adam and Eve). The bible says that when someone ate fruit from the tree of knowledge they would see the world as God does (being omniescent). Cake wants big corporations to see the world as they do.
"Take a walk through the jungle of cardboard shantees and tents,"
This again to Cake's want for corporations to see the world as it is.
The rest of the song is a conversation, per se, between the big corporations ("We are..") and the real world ("He is...").
Though I think alexf1225 hit a good note as well.
"Accepting callers for pendant key chains"
-There are key chains meant for holding small objects, such as pills or other drugs.
"To resist it is useless"
-referring to drug addiction and trying not to call your dealer
"You can meet at his location, but you better come with cash"
-Duh
"Now his hat is on backwards...."DUDE!""
-Ok, I don't know how many corporate exec's in the music industry that have tattoos, wear their hats backwards and call people dude, but I do know more than a few kids who do and/or sell drugs that are musically inclined, have tattoos, wear their hats backwards and call folks "dude".
"Now today is tomorrow...weaving in and out"
-When you're high on whatever your vice happens to be, time stops being significant and it becomes very hard to keep track of. Days melt into weeks, weeks melt into months, etc.
"Fluffy white lines"
-Huh, I wonder what that could be reffering to
"He is handling the money..."DUDE!""
-another "duh" line, particularly with the "serving the food" line.
"You can dress up like a sultan..."
-people on drugs sometimes dress in a ridiculous fashion, as it's amusing to folks that're high (hard to explain if you haven't had the experience)
Need I go on further?
"Accepting callers for pendant key chains" This can just be a point on how over commercialized things are. Notice the accepting callers. It's likely a reference to the dj that pops up later.
"To resist it is useless" If you get your money from the government or as part of a commune you can't survive without submission. Dual addiction type reference. (To drugs and the idea of the current state of society at the time) Also, just an idea of powerlessness. What can the average citizen do about government? Vote in another corrupt guy instead?
"You can meet at his location, but you better come with cash" Just a capitalism reference. We don't value people for who they are. We value them for what they have to offer. Everything in the US is about service provided. Also can be taken as an outright you can live here, but you have to pay the toll since it comes after the comfort eagle part. You can live here without worries, but you gotta pay. Big government reference?
"Now his hat is on backwards...."DUDE!" First of all, they can just be talking about a poser if you're going literal. A manager of your money, pretending to be one of you. Perhaps like all those politicians meeting in the midwest and acting like they are one of them? :o
"Now today is tomorrow...weaving in and out" When your life is run for you... wouldn't every day be the exact same? Take away rights in exchange for safety/security.. soon you simply become a drone.
"Fluffy white lines" Pollution. What is left behind by our massive, albeit now dying, industry.
"He is handling the money..."DUDE!" Think Stimulus Package. Not specifically what they were talking about back then obviously. However, the idea is fairly simple. Government uses high taxes, such as Clinton at that time, and overspends. (Then later Bush was worse.. and then Obama.. even worse) The basic idea that you lack power. You have so little power that they even handle your money for you. Could be a really strong socialism reference. The DJ could be an obvious reference for an anti-american speaker.
"He is handling the money
He is serving the food
He is now accepting callers
He is calling me "DUDE!"
So you have government handling your money, and supplying your food. Looking for supporters while posing as one of the people.
I mean there are just so many ways one can interpret this song which is why I love it. I can support it equally as an anti-christ reference.
Though I honestly believe it is a reference to the music industry at that time. If you didn't fit what was "hot" at the time.. you were simply overlooked. I mean they followed that europop phase of the mid 90s. When comfort Eagle was released in 2001, emo and rap were starting to take hold. They don't fit either category, and quite frankly they may not of liked the way the industry was going. Many of the references to someone managing everything could be a reference to the boy bands that were put together by the music industry. I mean Nsync was huge in the mid 90s to early 00s. So it could easily be a reference to that sort of thing as well. The song is hard to read. -shrugs-