I disagree with punkpirate. I think this songs holds a great, deep meaning that is shielded from most by a phenominal vocabulary. It takes only a few minutes to dissect what Greg is saying here:
Lines 1-2:
I think the ‘old deflated beast’ here refers to organized religion. We’ve seen the vast existence of religion through various praises (read: the bible, psalms, etc) and we’ve taken up residence in its house.
Lines 3-5:
Our elegance is a product of our sociology, and part of that is to do things without regard to the consequences (such as plundering the Earth’s rainforests and dumping toxins into the oceans thus destroying many an ecosystem). I think what Greg is saying here, basically, is that while we do all of these things behind the scenes, the masses care only about the final product (not many people are willing to do something about how paper is made, as long as they still have paper). It should also be noted that humans are the only species to destroy the very resources it needs to survive, and furthermore, to produce resources that will harm its longevity (greenhouse emissions, toxic waste dumps, etc). Eventually, a ravaged and despoiled planet will be our predicament.
Lines 6-10:
We as a race have bought into Religion for a long time, and to be a part of something with a huge fanbase like religion can make us feel important and act pompously. Religion can also make people passionate about things they may know nothing about (such as politics, history, the topic abortion, etc). We do not respect the power bestowed upon us as humans, and it’s funny that we are a threat to ourselves (big businesses polluting everyone’s earth, murder, incest, rape, and other crimes running rampantly through our society). Lastly in this paragraph, Gaffin notes that things that are not important to the survival of Earth (such as the rapid deforestation of much of the Americas) leave us with so much little in the end in terms of time on the biological clock for Earth (due to drastic decreases in resources and ecosystems).
Lines 11-16:
This could mean one of two things, possibility 1) Many people think that de-forestation on a massive scale and the extinction of such species as the blue whale, the tiger and countless arthropods are temporary and that they can simply come back into existence, or possibility 2) The brainwashed right-wing Evangelicals believe that they can ravage the planet as much as they like because Jesus will be there to save them just in time, and any suffering incurred will be temporary and just because Jesus is on the way. But in the end, all of the treasures of the Earth that become extinct as a result of human activity will forever remain that way. Putting aside either of these two explanations for a more basic one, Greg is saying that the things we value today that are a result of these violations of the Earth (mass-paper production, oil to power our cars, rape of the land, etc) make it all the more easy for our existence to complicate the Earth’s waning predicament. We feed the machine by being so hooked on these products, and thus the wheels keep on turning and the knife continues to be thrust into the heart of the Earth.
Lines 17-End:
I think the last lines (beginning at the middle-eight) are rather self-explanatory.
I disagree with punkpirate. I think this songs holds a great, deep meaning that is shielded from most by a phenominal vocabulary. It takes only a few minutes to dissect what Greg is saying here:
Lines 1-2: I think the ‘old deflated beast’ here refers to organized religion. We’ve seen the vast existence of religion through various praises (read: the bible, psalms, etc) and we’ve taken up residence in its house.
Lines 3-5: Our elegance is a product of our sociology, and part of that is to do things without regard to the consequences (such as plundering the Earth’s rainforests and dumping toxins into the oceans thus destroying many an ecosystem). I think what Greg is saying here, basically, is that while we do all of these things behind the scenes, the masses care only about the final product (not many people are willing to do something about how paper is made, as long as they still have paper). It should also be noted that humans are the only species to destroy the very resources it needs to survive, and furthermore, to produce resources that will harm its longevity (greenhouse emissions, toxic waste dumps, etc). Eventually, a ravaged and despoiled planet will be our predicament.
Lines 6-10: We as a race have bought into Religion for a long time, and to be a part of something with a huge fanbase like religion can make us feel important and act pompously. Religion can also make people passionate about things they may know nothing about (such as politics, history, the topic abortion, etc). We do not respect the power bestowed upon us as humans, and it’s funny that we are a threat to ourselves (big businesses polluting everyone’s earth, murder, incest, rape, and other crimes running rampantly through our society). Lastly in this paragraph, Gaffin notes that things that are not important to the survival of Earth (such as the rapid deforestation of much of the Americas) leave us with so much little in the end in terms of time on the biological clock for Earth (due to drastic decreases in resources and ecosystems).
Lines 11-16: This could mean one of two things, possibility 1) Many people think that de-forestation on a massive scale and the extinction of such species as the blue whale, the tiger and countless arthropods are temporary and that they can simply come back into existence, or possibility 2) The brainwashed right-wing Evangelicals believe that they can ravage the planet as much as they like because Jesus will be there to save them just in time, and any suffering incurred will be temporary and just because Jesus is on the way. But in the end, all of the treasures of the Earth that become extinct as a result of human activity will forever remain that way. Putting aside either of these two explanations for a more basic one, Greg is saying that the things we value today that are a result of these violations of the Earth (mass-paper production, oil to power our cars, rape of the land, etc) make it all the more easy for our existence to complicate the Earth’s waning predicament. We feed the machine by being so hooked on these products, and thus the wheels keep on turning and the knife continues to be thrust into the heart of the Earth.
Lines 17-End: I think the last lines (beginning at the middle-eight) are rather self-explanatory.