To me it's like it's talking to someone who has just died, reflecting on what they did in their life and what their life meant. 'Feathernest, invest and gain, shiny brass (money) is milk and grain, and yours is to just sustain'...these words are about how all our lives we fight over money, trying to just keep our heads above water. 'And all the while you quietly crave and crave - the day is done. The time you've made has come and gone. Stay asleep now.'...these words are just heartbreaking. It's like the subject of the song has spent his life just trying to survive, all the while desperate for something more, and now at the end he finds nothing. His time is gone, and all he can do now is sleep. 'Everyone into position, everyone into their place, grow to grow at snail's pace'...I'm more confused about this and the rest of the song but it sounds like it refers to the position of everyone in society as a cog in a very large machine. We grow that the machine may grow, but only at a snail's pace.
I agree, this song is brilliant.
To me it's like it's talking to someone who has just died, reflecting on what they did in their life and what their life meant. 'Feathernest, invest and gain, shiny brass (money) is milk and grain, and yours is to just sustain'...these words are about how all our lives we fight over money, trying to just keep our heads above water. 'And all the while you quietly crave and crave - the day is done. The time you've made has come and gone. Stay asleep now.'...these words are just heartbreaking. It's like the subject of the song has spent his life just trying to survive, all the while desperate for something more, and now at the end he finds nothing. His time is gone, and all he can do now is sleep. 'Everyone into position, everyone into their place, grow to grow at snail's pace'...I'm more confused about this and the rest of the song but it sounds like it refers to the position of everyone in society as a cog in a very large machine. We grow that the machine may grow, but only at a snail's pace.
Amazing. A truly beautiful song.