It seems to me this song is about living in the crime and havoc of New Orleans. The crime here was horrible in the early to mid 90's, and hasn't really gotten much better. 152 murders this year. Murders are hard to get convictions on here, because the crime can be so random, so rather than let the perpetrator go, deals are quite common to at least get the person off the streets for a while. What this song does so well (to me) is convey the sense of "disconnectedness" that you can feel from the crime. You can talk about it dispassionately, lock the doors, and drive around.
I first paid attention to the lyrics of this song one day sitting on a patio at a bar with my friends, it was one of those days where you sat and hung out and drank for hours, and you hear the music start over again. It was post-Katrina, and post-evacuation, when the national guard were everywhere. It was the first time in my life (i'm 27) that I remember ever thinking it had been a while since I'd heard about a murder on the news or from a friend.
We had an incredible 5 or 6 months with a much diminished crime rate, but it is now sadly inching back up to normal.
It seems to me this song is about living in the crime and havoc of New Orleans. The crime here was horrible in the early to mid 90's, and hasn't really gotten much better. 152 murders this year. Murders are hard to get convictions on here, because the crime can be so random, so rather than let the perpetrator go, deals are quite common to at least get the person off the streets for a while. What this song does so well (to me) is convey the sense of "disconnectedness" that you can feel from the crime. You can talk about it dispassionately, lock the doors, and drive around.
I first paid attention to the lyrics of this song one day sitting on a patio at a bar with my friends, it was one of those days where you sat and hung out and drank for hours, and you hear the music start over again. It was post-Katrina, and post-evacuation, when the national guard were everywhere. It was the first time in my life (i'm 27) that I remember ever thinking it had been a while since I'd heard about a murder on the news or from a friend.
We had an incredible 5 or 6 months with a much diminished crime rate, but it is now sadly inching back up to normal.