To me, animal is a realization that the predominant political or religious systems that seem to largely dictate how human life happens come and go. They don't last. To me, Animal is a song about empowerment. Its about owning your politics and/or beliefs by taking a step back systems of power and control created by humans, and realizing that life on earth has always been primarily goverened by nature. In other words, it is an empowering notion that political or religious systems that seem so powerful and unchanging when you exist within them become a joke when you look at the constantly changing history of human systems of control. I think Ani recognizes this, and understands that in the long-term, political systems and religious systems have trivial influences compared to natural ones.
I don't think this song is about nature exclusively. To me, it means that to empower yourself, and to own your politics instead of feeling powerless means looking at human life differently. "You have to believe that mercy has its own country, and its round and borderless". When I heard that line, I felt I understood exactly what the song was about. I had the same experience previously when I was crossing the border into the US from my home in Canada, and I saw a flock of geese fly over the border without being stopped. That experience made me realize how ridiculous the idea of borders and even countries is.
To me, animal is a realization that the predominant political or religious systems that seem to largely dictate how human life happens come and go. They don't last. To me, Animal is a song about empowerment. Its about owning your politics and/or beliefs by taking a step back systems of power and control created by humans, and realizing that life on earth has always been primarily goverened by nature. In other words, it is an empowering notion that political or religious systems that seem so powerful and unchanging when you exist within them become a joke when you look at the constantly changing history of human systems of control. I think Ani recognizes this, and understands that in the long-term, political systems and religious systems have trivial influences compared to natural ones.
I don't think this song is about nature exclusively. To me, it means that to empower yourself, and to own your politics instead of feeling powerless means looking at human life differently. "You have to believe that mercy has its own country, and its round and borderless". When I heard that line, I felt I understood exactly what the song was about. I had the same experience previously when I was crossing the border into the US from my home in Canada, and I saw a flock of geese fly over the border without being stopped. That experience made me realize how ridiculous the idea of borders and even countries is.