"Just last night I woke from some unconscionable dream
And had it nailed to my forehead again
To keep this boat afloat
There are things you can't afford to know
So I save all my breath for the sails"
I think this verse is saying that, for most people, there are things you just cannot think about and/or realize if you're going to keep going. In his "unconscionable dream," he saw what people "can't afford to know." Going along with the atheism theme that was mentioned previously, perhaps what people can't afford to know is that there is no supreme being (or that life is absurd/meaningless)--things of that nature.
"But you'll find those lingering voices
Are just your ego's attempt to make it all clean and nice and make a moron out of you
Walking a bridge with weakening cables
Huddled up in fear and hate because we know our fate and it's a lot to put us through "
I'm not so sure about the chorus. Perhaps he's saying that the lingering voices are the religious types-- the ones who look for "clean and nice" explanations about the world around them. Then again, the lingering voices he's talking about could be the opposite. They could be the existentialist thoughts people have--but I certainly don't think existentialism is "clean and nice." In my opinion, he's referring to the former, not the latter. The dogmatically religious voices are those that are huddled up in fear and hate.
"Most ideas turn to dust
As there are few in which we can all trust
Haven't you noticed I've been shedding all of mine?
So let's abandon that track
And leave our fathers fighting in a sack
We're way too wise-assed for that"
I love the first few lines of this verse. The narrator is clearly distancing himself from dogmatic beliefs by "shedding" his own. By extension, he's also distancing himself from the religious. The last three lines suggest that we should abandon fighting over dogmatic beliefs/ideas like those in the past always have, because it's like fighting in a sack(bloody, violent, and pointless).
"You might find some fools at your doorstep
Hustling the latest changes to the book that's the strangest
In an attempt to multiply
Marionettes on weakening cables
Huddled up with fear and hate because they know their fate and it's a lot to put them through "
This verse is clearly focused on religion and the bible ("the book that's the strangest"). More specifically, it focuses on dogmatic types ("fools") that go around trying to convince others that their beliefs are the correct ones. They are puppets (marionettes) on a weak foundation ("weakening cables") who are trying to turn as many non-believers as possible into puppets too-- perhaps to further convince themselves that they are right (the more people on their side, the more right they think they are). They are "huddled up with fear and hate," perhaps because on some level they know they're going to die ("their fate") and there's no aferlife. Or maybe it's just that they know deep down that they really know nothing about what will happen to them when they die. In that sense, it's also about fear of the unknown--which is probably why many need to create and adhere to dogmatic beliefs (in order to convince themselves there are no unknowns).
"We've taken on a climb
And it's long enough to put the best of us on our backs
Walking up a slide
And there are those of us who'd have us five miles off the track"
I guess the gist of this verse is that life is hard for everyone, no matter what you believe and no matter how strong ("the best of us") you are. Something like that, I guess.
Ok, here's my verse by verse interpretation:
"Just last night I woke from some unconscionable dream And had it nailed to my forehead again To keep this boat afloat There are things you can't afford to know So I save all my breath for the sails"
I think this verse is saying that, for most people, there are things you just cannot think about and/or realize if you're going to keep going. In his "unconscionable dream," he saw what people "can't afford to know." Going along with the atheism theme that was mentioned previously, perhaps what people can't afford to know is that there is no supreme being (or that life is absurd/meaningless)--things of that nature.
"But you'll find those lingering voices Are just your ego's attempt to make it all clean and nice and make a moron out of you Walking a bridge with weakening cables Huddled up in fear and hate because we know our fate and it's a lot to put us through "
I'm not so sure about the chorus. Perhaps he's saying that the lingering voices are the religious types-- the ones who look for "clean and nice" explanations about the world around them. Then again, the lingering voices he's talking about could be the opposite. They could be the existentialist thoughts people have--but I certainly don't think existentialism is "clean and nice." In my opinion, he's referring to the former, not the latter. The dogmatically religious voices are those that are huddled up in fear and hate.
"Most ideas turn to dust As there are few in which we can all trust Haven't you noticed I've been shedding all of mine? So let's abandon that track And leave our fathers fighting in a sack We're way too wise-assed for that"
I love the first few lines of this verse. The narrator is clearly distancing himself from dogmatic beliefs by "shedding" his own. By extension, he's also distancing himself from the religious. The last three lines suggest that we should abandon fighting over dogmatic beliefs/ideas like those in the past always have, because it's like fighting in a sack(bloody, violent, and pointless).
"You might find some fools at your doorstep Hustling the latest changes to the book that's the strangest In an attempt to multiply Marionettes on weakening cables Huddled up with fear and hate because they know their fate and it's a lot to put them through "
This verse is clearly focused on religion and the bible ("the book that's the strangest"). More specifically, it focuses on dogmatic types ("fools") that go around trying to convince others that their beliefs are the correct ones. They are puppets (marionettes) on a weak foundation ("weakening cables") who are trying to turn as many non-believers as possible into puppets too-- perhaps to further convince themselves that they are right (the more people on their side, the more right they think they are). They are "huddled up with fear and hate," perhaps because on some level they know they're going to die ("their fate") and there's no aferlife. Or maybe it's just that they know deep down that they really know nothing about what will happen to them when they die. In that sense, it's also about fear of the unknown--which is probably why many need to create and adhere to dogmatic beliefs (in order to convince themselves there are no unknowns).
"We've taken on a climb And it's long enough to put the best of us on our backs Walking up a slide And there are those of us who'd have us five miles off the track"
I guess the gist of this verse is that life is hard for everyone, no matter what you believe and no matter how strong ("the best of us") you are. Something like that, I guess.