Lyric discussion by Basketcase1134 

Cover art for Bleeding Powers lyrics by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

the first line is the most confusing..."all that time you were keeping me straight, i was bleeding powers"...i was thinking that the song is definitely about war, but what about the drug war? that's political, right up his alley. i was just thinking about being straight as being clean, and thats why he can't "conjure ghosts no more"

i hate analyzing lyrics sometimes, but thats why a lot of musicians don't tell the actual meaning, they are written so listeners can make their own.