I've always struggled with the meaning behind it, too. I'm sure it's there, but the lyrics are just too vague and ambiguous for myself to really find a true meaning out of it.
In a way, I agree with suchprettywords. I've always interpretted the song as, to put it simply, cynicism. It seemed to be that he is talking about how humans are always doing something wrong: creating problems and ignoring them, or going around in circles in an attempt to address the issues without resolving them (swim around in figue eights). I personally believe they're talking about the environmental problems we are creating, and how we're basically destroying our earth. The hints can be found throughout the song, I don't think I need to point them out to you.
But yes, that's just my interpretation. Like I said above, the lyrics are far too vague for there to be an obvious, set meaning.
I've always struggled with the meaning behind it, too. I'm sure it's there, but the lyrics are just too vague and ambiguous for myself to really find a true meaning out of it.
In a way, I agree with suchprettywords. I've always interpretted the song as, to put it simply, cynicism. It seemed to be that he is talking about how humans are always doing something wrong: creating problems and ignoring them, or going around in circles in an attempt to address the issues without resolving them (swim around in figue eights). I personally believe they're talking about the environmental problems we are creating, and how we're basically destroying our earth. The hints can be found throughout the song, I don't think I need to point them out to you.
But yes, that's just my interpretation. Like I said above, the lyrics are far too vague for there to be an obvious, set meaning.