Unfortunately, a couple of lines are misquoted here. They should be:
"Forgotten are the past sins
And the "perfect creation" falls"
With the proper lyrics, the meaning becomes a lot clearer. On the face of it, this song might describe Western civilization in general and the U.S. in particular. "Masses of dullness, a spiral cage/ As they ride on visual aggression" -- the dull masses, obsessed with pacifying media violence?
But, like George Orwell's "Animal Farm", this story has a more general meaning. It suggests a repeating cycle that happens to one civilization after another over the millenia. Again and again, human beings create what they think is the "perfect" civilization, the one that finally got it right -- only to destroy it with their own folly.
Interestingly, the lyrics hint that the narrator is some heroic or guardian figure. He counsels honesty in facing the inevitable slide into disaster: "Is truth what you believe?/ A prophet's tears will dry..." The catastrophe (at least this time) comes because he has somehow failed or neglected his duty: "Once, I slept in confidence/ Sounds like I've been a fool . . ." But he knows this history will repeat itself, with a new civilization rising again.
Unfortunately, a couple of lines are misquoted here. They should be:
"Forgotten are the past sins And the "perfect creation" falls"
With the proper lyrics, the meaning becomes a lot clearer. On the face of it, this song might describe Western civilization in general and the U.S. in particular. "Masses of dullness, a spiral cage/ As they ride on visual aggression" -- the dull masses, obsessed with pacifying media violence?
But, like George Orwell's "Animal Farm", this story has a more general meaning. It suggests a repeating cycle that happens to one civilization after another over the millenia. Again and again, human beings create what they think is the "perfect" civilization, the one that finally got it right -- only to destroy it with their own folly.
Interestingly, the lyrics hint that the narrator is some heroic or guardian figure. He counsels honesty in facing the inevitable slide into disaster: "Is truth what you believe?/ A prophet's tears will dry..." The catastrophe (at least this time) comes because he has somehow failed or neglected his duty: "Once, I slept in confidence/ Sounds like I've been a fool . . ." But he knows this history will repeat itself, with a new civilization rising again.