I'm not going to tackle the entire song. It is far too dense. I'm going try my hand at the verse that I've found most perplexing, not only in understanding the words (i.e., what is he saying?), but the meanings behind the words as they sound to me.
The lyrics that I find most inscrutable are:
Cold chased on run and covered like a horse before the race
Upon a closer listen, it sounds to me like:
Cold-chased, un-run and -covered like a horse before the race. (I.e., un-run, and un-covered).
It would fit with his concerns about the burn of scrutiny: a horse before the race is not fully prepared. One who is not fully prepared for something will feel "the burn of scrutiny."
So, perhaps the comparison is that in some aspect of his life, he feels like that horse, unprepared, naked, and therefore subject to the burn of scrutiny.
I'm not going to tackle the entire song. It is far too dense. I'm going try my hand at the verse that I've found most perplexing, not only in understanding the words (i.e., what is he saying?), but the meanings behind the words as they sound to me.
The lyrics that I find most inscrutable are:
Upon a closer listen, it sounds to me like:
It would fit with his concerns about the burn of scrutiny: a horse before the race is not fully prepared. One who is not fully prepared for something will feel "the burn of scrutiny."
So, perhaps the comparison is that in some aspect of his life, he feels like that horse, unprepared, naked, and therefore subject to the burn of scrutiny.