A lot of the imagery here can be read as literally about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima (there's more to the city, but Americans tend to refer to it exclusively for that). The shadows of people burned into the wall by the bomb's flash are one of the most enduring symbols of the devastation of nuclear war. snow that makes us glow may be a reference to fallout.
If we instead read hiroshima as a metaphor, the song is perhaps about leaving behind something that's brutal, ruined, or just depressing. The images deal with death, but the character's actions aren't about dying, or about haunting the rubble. They're about getting the hell out.
"The saint in the tower / died for her sins, not ours" is a tremendously liberating line. We're not bound here out of guilt. No one else is suffering on our behalf. We'll deal with our consequences, and they'll deal with theirs, and if we want to say goodbye to Hiroshima and go to Paris, no one can stop us.
A lot of the imagery here can be read as literally about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima (there's more to the city, but Americans tend to refer to it exclusively for that). The shadows of people burned into the wall by the bomb's flash are one of the most enduring symbols of the devastation of nuclear war. snow that makes us glow may be a reference to fallout.
If we instead read hiroshima as a metaphor, the song is perhaps about leaving behind something that's brutal, ruined, or just depressing. The images deal with death, but the character's actions aren't about dying, or about haunting the rubble. They're about getting the hell out.
"The saint in the tower / died for her sins, not ours" is a tremendously liberating line. We're not bound here out of guilt. No one else is suffering on our behalf. We'll deal with our consequences, and they'll deal with theirs, and if we want to say goodbye to Hiroshima and go to Paris, no one can stop us.