Any song that mentions Thomas Paine is bound to be good. This is a great song, with interesting meaning. Billy is a big fan of Tom Paine (as am I), the first two verses are in reference to democratic revolution that followed the fall of the USSR, around this time a man called Francis Fukuyama wrote a book called the End of History, arguing that Liberal Democracy is the natural end point in human political history. At this time many US republicans began fantising about democracy spreading, I think Billy is giving a word of caution, while he believes in Democracy, each country is at a difference stage of political devlopment and it cannot be rushed through. The third is a criticsm leveled at the USSR and its totalitarian system. The north sea bubble and rest of the song is critical of consumerism and capitalism, stating 'we are living in a north sea bubble, trying to spend our way out of trouble', odd this was written in the early 1990s, would be quite relevant today.
Any song that mentions Thomas Paine is bound to be good. This is a great song, with interesting meaning. Billy is a big fan of Tom Paine (as am I), the first two verses are in reference to democratic revolution that followed the fall of the USSR, around this time a man called Francis Fukuyama wrote a book called the End of History, arguing that Liberal Democracy is the natural end point in human political history. At this time many US republicans began fantising about democracy spreading, I think Billy is giving a word of caution, while he believes in Democracy, each country is at a difference stage of political devlopment and it cannot be rushed through. The third is a criticsm leveled at the USSR and its totalitarian system. The north sea bubble and rest of the song is critical of consumerism and capitalism, stating 'we are living in a north sea bubble, trying to spend our way out of trouble', odd this was written in the early 1990s, would be quite relevant today.