Perhaps this is just my own take on it, but i see this song as not only an anti religion rant, but also an anti philosophy one. The Shins, in this song, and also somewhat in Saint Simon.. sound like disgruntled college philosophy majors.
"To keep this boat afloat, there are some things we can't afford to know, so i save all my breath for the sails"
He is saying that it takes enough effort just to survive ("keep this boat afloat"), so why waste your breath talking about what it all means?
The anti-philosophy tack sticks out again in "most ideas turn to dust".. showing skeptism of any new explanation for our lives, religious or otherwise, because there will always be newer, "better" philosophies to come and take their place. So why bother? Let the philosophers, religious leaders, and gurus fight it out.. cuz we're "way too wise ass for that".
Perhaps this is just my own take on it, but i see this song as not only an anti religion rant, but also an anti philosophy one. The Shins, in this song, and also somewhat in Saint Simon.. sound like disgruntled college philosophy majors. "To keep this boat afloat, there are some things we can't afford to know, so i save all my breath for the sails" He is saying that it takes enough effort just to survive ("keep this boat afloat"), so why waste your breath talking about what it all means?
The anti-philosophy tack sticks out again in "most ideas turn to dust".. showing skeptism of any new explanation for our lives, religious or otherwise, because there will always be newer, "better" philosophies to come and take their place. So why bother? Let the philosophers, religious leaders, and gurus fight it out.. cuz we're "way too wise ass for that".