I've been listening to Dispatch for about ten years. What I've learned is that most of their songs are written as stories or poems and are not to be taken literally, but each has a distinct meaning. This particular song actually is about drugs, but instead of promoting them, the band is actually providing commentary on the life of a junkie. Those who said that the song is discussing the meaning of life are also correct. The song actually reminds me of an old Indian folktale of a man who was seduced by a woman who possessed him and the only way that he could get clean again was venturing to a sacred river and meeting the guardian of life who cleansed him by instilling in him a new meaning of life that led him to abandon his old ways of womanizing and drinking. I think that that's what this song is about, the life of a junkie who has become enlightened by some higher power (the old man), be it God, knowledge, or just a newfound respect for the sanctity of life. I actually view the woman in this song as the substance or the addiction. In essence I believe that this song is telling us that everyone has power over their own life and also the power to change that life around at any time.
I've been listening to Dispatch for about ten years. What I've learned is that most of their songs are written as stories or poems and are not to be taken literally, but each has a distinct meaning. This particular song actually is about drugs, but instead of promoting them, the band is actually providing commentary on the life of a junkie. Those who said that the song is discussing the meaning of life are also correct. The song actually reminds me of an old Indian folktale of a man who was seduced by a woman who possessed him and the only way that he could get clean again was venturing to a sacred river and meeting the guardian of life who cleansed him by instilling in him a new meaning of life that led him to abandon his old ways of womanizing and drinking. I think that that's what this song is about, the life of a junkie who has become enlightened by some higher power (the old man), be it God, knowledge, or just a newfound respect for the sanctity of life. I actually view the woman in this song as the substance or the addiction. In essence I believe that this song is telling us that everyone has power over their own life and also the power to change that life around at any time.