I've always liked Byrne's different interpretations of paradise and heaven. I think here the narrator is just honest: he doesn't like this natural beauty, and he'll be damned if he's going to pretend to. Tbh, I think if I was in the world described here I would miss all the stuff we have now, and no amount of flowers would act as compensation.
I think this song may also be about how European and American cultures have built their own heaven around themselves, and filled it with conviniences that make the world around us like a paradise. We don't really need much more to perfect the manmade world around us.
Still, I suppose one man's treasure is another man's rubbish. I'm sure there are people who would rather live in the world Byrne describes than the Western "paradise".
I've always liked Byrne's different interpretations of paradise and heaven. I think here the narrator is just honest: he doesn't like this natural beauty, and he'll be damned if he's going to pretend to. Tbh, I think if I was in the world described here I would miss all the stuff we have now, and no amount of flowers would act as compensation. I think this song may also be about how European and American cultures have built their own heaven around themselves, and filled it with conviniences that make the world around us like a paradise. We don't really need much more to perfect the manmade world around us. Still, I suppose one man's treasure is another man's rubbish. I'm sure there are people who would rather live in the world Byrne describes than the Western "paradise".