Personally, I believe that the lyrics to this song were designed to be ambiguous, seeing as the song seems to be more built around the atmosphere and mood of itself.
Of course, none of us are Paul Banks, so none of us know. So until Mr/ Banks himself gives you an explanation of the song, I suggest you stop shooting down ideas. They all work because the lyrics are so wonderfully open for interpretation.
The ex-girlfriend theory works. The William S. Burroughs theory works. The drugs theory works. They're all basically centred around someone or something that appears when you least expect it and changes things, even in the slightest of ways.
But personally, I think the God theory is actually pretty brilliant, and a little less cliche than relationships or drugs. It's a very unique way of thinking of God, at least in a lyrical sense. It emphasizes the mystery of God. It's sort of like God only does so much so that it seems it's done nothing at all.
As for all the people that have been shooting down the God theory without a second thought, I hope you realize that you are no better than a bible-thumping Christian. You see, you've all degraded the beliefs of others and imposed your own upon them. Sounds a little fascist to me. Religion is never the problem, it's the people that use it to gain power. And for the record, just because somebody's Christian doesn't mean they believe in some giant man with a beard that lives in a castle made of clouds and rules the planet. Personally, I believe that God is simply fate. An entity that appears and changes things when you least expect it. But if you disagree, whatever. Do what you want, it's not like your beliefs are affecting me at all. But no, it varies from person to person and if you're smart at all you'll realize that it's the moral that counts, not the story.
In conclusion, stop hate, love music. Live on.
Personally, I believe that the lyrics to this song were designed to be ambiguous, seeing as the song seems to be more built around the atmosphere and mood of itself. Of course, none of us are Paul Banks, so none of us know. So until Mr/ Banks himself gives you an explanation of the song, I suggest you stop shooting down ideas. They all work because the lyrics are so wonderfully open for interpretation. The ex-girlfriend theory works. The William S. Burroughs theory works. The drugs theory works. They're all basically centred around someone or something that appears when you least expect it and changes things, even in the slightest of ways. But personally, I think the God theory is actually pretty brilliant, and a little less cliche than relationships or drugs. It's a very unique way of thinking of God, at least in a lyrical sense. It emphasizes the mystery of God. It's sort of like God only does so much so that it seems it's done nothing at all.
As for all the people that have been shooting down the God theory without a second thought, I hope you realize that you are no better than a bible-thumping Christian. You see, you've all degraded the beliefs of others and imposed your own upon them. Sounds a little fascist to me. Religion is never the problem, it's the people that use it to gain power. And for the record, just because somebody's Christian doesn't mean they believe in some giant man with a beard that lives in a castle made of clouds and rules the planet. Personally, I believe that God is simply fate. An entity that appears and changes things when you least expect it. But if you disagree, whatever. Do what you want, it's not like your beliefs are affecting me at all. But no, it varies from person to person and if you're smart at all you'll realize that it's the moral that counts, not the story. In conclusion, stop hate, love music. Live on.