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I think that this song is about being sick of men in general, and possibly a little of liberation thrown into the mix of well. Kabalah is also Madonnas religion of choice?

"These are the days of empty kitchens The rise and fall of Mary Ellen's hairdo I think she's found a new religion Studying the Kabalah in her J Crew"

I can't believe there's only one comment. Anyway, I heard this song from a movie and now I love it!

Ice is crystal methamphetamine, which rose to popularity in the 80s. Members Only is a brand of jacket, which during the 80s showed you were chic. Saying Uncle Larry was stuck in the 80s is an understatement.

White people (and rich people for that matter) are stereotyped as not being able to dance, as much dance music is based on emphasizing beats two and four.

When I hear the name "Mary Ellen", I think of the 70s hit TV series "The Waltons". Mary Ellen was the rebellious tomboy who grew up to be a doctor. If this line is about that Mary Ellen, I'm scratching my head, because she was never the housewife or the trophy wife. She was always her own person. So, her hairdo never rose, per se.

But in any case, the lines about empty kitchens, hairdos rising and falling and her studying the ancient religion of kaballah in a popular clothing brand J. Crew seems to talk about women being liberated from traditional roles and now setting their personal course in uncharted territory.

I'm guessing the verse with optimistic Gregg is a combination of things. The eastern United States is regularly buffeted by hurricanes. There is irony in saying one has "saved" all this money when they spent it all on half-priced items.

The line about politicians looking for a back door makes me wish the line above said they "cover" their asses rather than shake them. . . . The line about the lasses not liking the boys anymore points to a repeated disenchantment women had with men from the 80s on.

"Hanging" with the lasses conjures an image of a bar (Coyote Ugly, maybe?), which, tied into the references of martini glasses and blackstrap molasses, pretty much says the state of the world, both personal and in general, can drive on to drink.

This is a song about things not being right in the world, while (almost) everyone continues to act like it is, to the point of self-destruction. Uncle Larry is in his own little world (the 80s), where he has no further responsibilities than to get high and "turn on all the ladies."

The white folks and rich kids continue to live like there is an endless supply of tomorrows, all filled with absurdities to amuse them, the rise and fall of Mary Ellen's hairdo, as she studies the Kabbalah in her J. Crew. They shake their asses out of rhythm ("looking for the two and four") with a world that isn't doing very well, and the politicians are shaking their asses (moving quickly) for the back door, slipping out of the room where they should be living up to their responsibility to govern. Not that it matters anymore; the eastern seaboard has been blown away - the end has already begun, and we're fiddling as Rome burns.

Meanwhile the "I" in the song (possibly Sheryl, possibly a character she's describing in the first person) drinks away her angst at watching people pretend things are okay. Her friend Gregg says, "It's all good," but it's not. So she hangs out with the lasses, weary of a world out of step, and seeking comfort in friends and alcohol.

And, of course, the boys still have almost all of the political power, the ability to prevent or mitigate the impending disaster, a sort of men = the world metaphor, and they're failing at their job. "You had one job," the song tells them, before the protagonist decides to join the lasses who don't like the boys no more, and drink old fashioneds and martinis as the world burns.

There's a sort of learned powerlessness throughout the song, both in the protagonist and the people she sees. The white folks, rich kids, and politicians are too busy shaking their asses to make use of their power, and the protagonist seems to feel no responsibility to change what she finds so distressing. What can she do? She's just one of the lasses, drinking toasts to the end of the world, powerless to stop it. But nobody is really powerless, and while she doesn't wield the power of wealth, political office, male privilege, etc, sitting back and letting it all burn is in effect joining those who dance while the world ends.