To me Stipe's saying, don't be depressed, don't let the world and George Bush make you give up, instead turn it all around ("I wish the followers would lead"), take the world on ("hold on world 'cause I'm not jumping off"), something good could be just around the corner ("...you don't know what's coming").
This sort of links in to 'The Outsiders' and 'The Final Straw' too - it's about knowing something (political?) and wanting the strength to reveal it to the world and weather the resultant storm - hence the wish for "a voice so strong/I can question what I have seen."
The simple fact that this song has a positive political message in it makes me really like it. "I want the truth to set me free."
A pretty simple, pretty positive song.
To me Stipe's saying, don't be depressed, don't let the world and George Bush make you give up, instead turn it all around ("I wish the followers would lead"), take the world on ("hold on world 'cause I'm not jumping off"), something good could be just around the corner ("...you don't know what's coming").
This sort of links in to 'The Outsiders' and 'The Final Straw' too - it's about knowing something (political?) and wanting the strength to reveal it to the world and weather the resultant storm - hence the wish for "a voice so strong/I can question what I have seen."
The simple fact that this song has a positive political message in it makes me really like it. "I want the truth to set me free."