OK, first off, absolutely brilliant song. The climax is just so intense, the tone so shifting, and the mood so diverse.
As for the lyrics, I may be way off here, but I think it's about
war (I know the "in war" part seems too obvious) The first verse talks about how much everybody can complain about war at first, but how those same protestors soon give up, and forget about it all("fresh blood dries", those killed are soon forgotten).
The second is about the public lying back and accepting the fact that war is out of their influence, that their nothing to be done and it is "above our station" - left to politicians and leaders.
"Always the same face" shows how all wars are the same, lead by the same people, "presenting the same lie" - false pretenses of patriotism. Despite this, we "keep walking sideways" and "changing your mind" - we don't have the power to unite and stop war ourselves, because we're too hesitant.
"Obsolete, your voices are" is self-explanatory. Then, "silence" shows that we consider our own hesitance and reluctance to speak up as the safer option.
"Souls and windows" is a difficult one, but I think it's saying that we become blinded by war, boxed in by patriotic and isolationist values. The "needle and thread" part is about how our values are only superifical, that our obssession with our own morals blinds us against logic.
The "water and oil" part reinforces an Iraq image the most for me. "Saw the seashore" is about a sudden desire, seeing a land beyond our horizons and wanting to conquer it. "Unfamiliar" itself I can't really figure out, but I think it may be about how we distance ourselves from war and leadership because we doubt so much our ability to change them. We treat important things as unfamiliar, and leave them to our leaders.
Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I think this is the most likely meaning I can think of. Considering this song leads straight on from "Commemorative 9/11 T-Shirt", I think it fits the theme nicely. ;)
OK, first off, absolutely brilliant song. The climax is just so intense, the tone so shifting, and the mood so diverse.
As for the lyrics, I may be way off here, but I think it's about war (I know the "in war" part seems too obvious) The first verse talks about how much everybody can complain about war at first, but how those same protestors soon give up, and forget about it all("fresh blood dries", those killed are soon forgotten).
The second is about the public lying back and accepting the fact that war is out of their influence, that their nothing to be done and it is "above our station" - left to politicians and leaders.
"Always the same face" shows how all wars are the same, lead by the same people, "presenting the same lie" - false pretenses of patriotism. Despite this, we "keep walking sideways" and "changing your mind" - we don't have the power to unite and stop war ourselves, because we're too hesitant.
"Obsolete, your voices are" is self-explanatory. Then, "silence" shows that we consider our own hesitance and reluctance to speak up as the safer option.
"Souls and windows" is a difficult one, but I think it's saying that we become blinded by war, boxed in by patriotic and isolationist values. The "needle and thread" part is about how our values are only superifical, that our obssession with our own morals blinds us against logic.
The "water and oil" part reinforces an Iraq image the most for me. "Saw the seashore" is about a sudden desire, seeing a land beyond our horizons and wanting to conquer it. "Unfamiliar" itself I can't really figure out, but I think it may be about how we distance ourselves from war and leadership because we doubt so much our ability to change them. We treat important things as unfamiliar, and leave them to our leaders.
Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I think this is the most likely meaning I can think of. Considering this song leads straight on from "Commemorative 9/11 T-Shirt", I think it fits the theme nicely. ;)