Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day) Lyrics

Lyric discussion by cman 

Cover art for Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day) lyrics by Broken Social Scene

i think this song is about the whole isreali-palestinean conflict:

"I saw Gaza turning to bread"

the line about "olives are under attack" could just have to do w/ the how olive branches traditionally represent peace and of course there is never peace in that region of the world.

a lot of the lines speak of war but not in the traditional sense "I got shot in the back" "I said i was never coming back"

a lot of the lines seem to refer to the inability for the two sides to negotiate and make peace: "ran out of knobs" (ran out of doors, a classic metaphor for options, oppurtunities, or chances), "ran out of time, eat time x3"

the title "ibi dreams of pavement" in my mind is about a little boy living in one of the countries dreaming of "a solid road" or a true civilized society w/out living in fear constantly.

it's possible this song has a far more universal meaning that i'm completely missing. whether the refrain is "you were there" or "you weren't there", the latter seeming far more likely, i still don't know who it's meant to confront or what it's really saying.