The religious theme is very upfront. I think that the missing link here is homosexuality, as the Dodos are from San Fran.
Primarily it's about the religious bigotry against homosexuality.
Religious forces condescend to gays and are always trying to convince them that they can be "healed"
"this lady beckons me to come
"Hey son, why don't ya kneel?"
"you need help"
parts of the song are virtually a call to arms, and a pledge that homosexuals are not going to ever stop fighting for their rights and equality, either in California or other states.
"the lonelies are coming to gather their forces
left on a string, the emptiness forges us on and on"
"face them on.
no more patient"
I would take this as saying that they won't be considered a patient who has something wrong with them. i.e. "come on this shit is real!"
This song was written before Prop 8 campaigns, but I get a sense that it was in response to the very large movement by many religious organizations to oppose gay rights, particularly marriage.
In a sense you could say it foreshadowed what happened later in the year with all the fighting between sides.
The Joseph Smith mention by another user is probably a longshot, but would actually be consistent with what I'm suggesting.
Notably, Mormonism was the primary force of funding behind the opposition to gay rights and prop 8.
I think this would have been evident if you lived in SF well before Prop 8 was proposed.
"We let you in we see your face
and then we slap you on the wrist
and when you try to leave it's much too late
cause we've got you on our fucking list"
This last verse could refer to the fundamentalist religious community trying to identify and blacklist (in terms of employment perhaps) the more ardent protesters and advocates for gay rights.
I have no inside information, and don't know much about the band personally.
This is what I read from the song..
The religious theme is very upfront. I think that the missing link here is homosexuality, as the Dodos are from San Fran.
Primarily it's about the religious bigotry against homosexuality. Religious forces condescend to gays and are always trying to convince them that they can be "healed" "this lady beckons me to come "Hey son, why don't ya kneel?" "you need help"
parts of the song are virtually a call to arms, and a pledge that homosexuals are not going to ever stop fighting for their rights and equality, either in California or other states. "the lonelies are coming to gather their forces left on a string, the emptiness forges us on and on"
"face them on. no more patient" I would take this as saying that they won't be considered a patient who has something wrong with them. i.e. "come on this shit is real!"
This song was written before Prop 8 campaigns, but I get a sense that it was in response to the very large movement by many religious organizations to oppose gay rights, particularly marriage. In a sense you could say it foreshadowed what happened later in the year with all the fighting between sides.
The Joseph Smith mention by another user is probably a longshot, but would actually be consistent with what I'm suggesting. Notably, Mormonism was the primary force of funding behind the opposition to gay rights and prop 8. I think this would have been evident if you lived in SF well before Prop 8 was proposed.
"We let you in we see your face and then we slap you on the wrist and when you try to leave it's much too late cause we've got you on our fucking list" This last verse could refer to the fundamentalist religious community trying to identify and blacklist (in terms of employment perhaps) the more ardent protesters and advocates for gay rights.
I have no inside information, and don't know much about the band personally. This is what I read from the song..
Amazing work