Lyric discussion by DevastatorJr. 

Cover art for The Rules lyrics by Tragically Hip, The

This is a fatalistic view of life, "the way things are", the rules. Salesmen will exaggerate, traffic will jam, Moralists on all side will claim the plight of the working man as their own. But as usual, Gord's able to find the wonder in the seemingly mundane motions of everyday life.