In the liner notes to the remastered version of "Clutching at Straws" and on the band's web site (http://www.marillion.com/music/albums/cas.htm#band), you can read the band members' recollections about the turmoil that was going on in the band during the time the album was recorded. The band was exhausted and under a lot of pressure from its record label, and Fish was on the verge of quitting the band.
Given this context, the "The Last Straw" seems to summarize Fish's frustrations with life as a rock star ("We make futile gestures, act to the cameras/With our made up faces and PR smiles") and feelings of hopelessness. Nothing like ending a dark album on an incredibly bitter and pessimistic note!
In the liner notes to the remastered version of "Clutching at Straws" and on the band's web site (http://www.marillion.com/music/albums/cas.htm#band), you can read the band members' recollections about the turmoil that was going on in the band during the time the album was recorded. The band was exhausted and under a lot of pressure from its record label, and Fish was on the verge of quitting the band.
Given this context, the "The Last Straw" seems to summarize Fish's frustrations with life as a rock star ("We make futile gestures, act to the cameras/With our made up faces and PR smiles") and feelings of hopelessness. Nothing like ending a dark album on an incredibly bitter and pessimistic note!