I take this song somewhat differently. The main character is someone who feels like he has to go out on his own to be an individual. In order to maintain "a life of possibilities" he cannot be limited by his old friends and family.
He maintains his individualism in opposition to his old acquaintances who try to reestablish relations with him. Yet, in the end, they get tired of the unrewarding effort and move on.
It is at this point, when the "hammers" stop tapping that the main character realizes that he is alone and starts to panic. He resurfaces and tries to find all his old friends, but he's been gone so long and not responded to them that they don't remember him.
I think this song brilliantly makes the point that, despite all the rhetoric to the contrary, the American and Western ideal of self-sufficient individualism is unsustainable. What good is a life of possibilitites if you've got no one to share it with?
I take this song somewhat differently. The main character is someone who feels like he has to go out on his own to be an individual. In order to maintain "a life of possibilities" he cannot be limited by his old friends and family.
He maintains his individualism in opposition to his old acquaintances who try to reestablish relations with him. Yet, in the end, they get tired of the unrewarding effort and move on.
It is at this point, when the "hammers" stop tapping that the main character realizes that he is alone and starts to panic. He resurfaces and tries to find all his old friends, but he's been gone so long and not responded to them that they don't remember him.
I think this song brilliantly makes the point that, despite all the rhetoric to the contrary, the American and Western ideal of self-sufficient individualism is unsustainable. What good is a life of possibilitites if you've got no one to share it with?