This song seems to be a paranthesis in the story. It is a reflection of why things have gone wrong, not only with this couple but more with society as a whole. According to the theology of David Bazan, half the world lives in wickedness and the other half in arrogance. He could not be more true in defining the way the two halves view each other. And of course the truth is not hidden in this line, “there is a steady flow moving to and fro”.
The half that live in wickedness seem to be the ones saying this line to the other half, “Are you’re an angel now, or a vulture
Constantly hovering over waiting for a big mistake.” The arrogant (who think they are righteous) are just waiting for the wicked to make a mistake so that they can call them on it. I think this is why Bazan paused from the story. He wants to make sure that all the good listeners (the arrogant) are not just judging the wicked, because if they are they are closer to vultures than angels.
Bazan also delineates the righteous as being on a “holy quest to be above reproach”. But in reality they are more closer to wanting to be on the cover of a magazine. With this song, Bazan draws in the half of the audience that think they do not relate to the wicked and show them they are also wicked. They are striving for “healthy skin” and “perfect teeth”, not “being above reproach”. Now everyone should be ready for the second half of the story and able to sympathize (or actually empathize) with the characters.
This song seems to be a paranthesis in the story. It is a reflection of why things have gone wrong, not only with this couple but more with society as a whole. According to the theology of David Bazan, half the world lives in wickedness and the other half in arrogance. He could not be more true in defining the way the two halves view each other. And of course the truth is not hidden in this line, “there is a steady flow moving to and fro”. The half that live in wickedness seem to be the ones saying this line to the other half, “Are you’re an angel now, or a vulture Constantly hovering over waiting for a big mistake.” The arrogant (who think they are righteous) are just waiting for the wicked to make a mistake so that they can call them on it. I think this is why Bazan paused from the story. He wants to make sure that all the good listeners (the arrogant) are not just judging the wicked, because if they are they are closer to vultures than angels. Bazan also delineates the righteous as being on a “holy quest to be above reproach”. But in reality they are more closer to wanting to be on the cover of a magazine. With this song, Bazan draws in the half of the audience that think they do not relate to the wicked and show them they are also wicked. They are striving for “healthy skin” and “perfect teeth”, not “being above reproach”. Now everyone should be ready for the second half of the story and able to sympathize (or actually empathize) with the characters.