This song (and the whole album) is about finding your way out of poverty.
"Deeper in and deeper still use your hands like eyes / Sift around the bottom row and soon will be your time / Keep your hands by your side," means to wait and just survive in poverty trusting that the time to escape will come.
"I've got my hands on it, I've gotta find a way / I've got my hands on it, I've gotta find a way out"- He has to find a way out of the 'American Ghetto'
Then the repeated "Bring all my people with me" means that he wants to bring his family out of this poverty too.
This next verse is my favorite, "Deeper in and deeper still the belly was the bank / The lion holds the mouth we feed still died at forty-five" I think Portugal the Man means that falling deeper into poverty they were more concerned with just getting food into their stomachs, then they were with getting money. They were just getting by day by day, and that lifestyle led the people around to die at forty-five.
The rest of the song is about him having hope of escaping the ghetto and bringing all his people with him.
This song (and the whole album) is about finding your way out of poverty.
"Deeper in and deeper still use your hands like eyes / Sift around the bottom row and soon will be your time / Keep your hands by your side," means to wait and just survive in poverty trusting that the time to escape will come.
"I've got my hands on it, I've gotta find a way / I've got my hands on it, I've gotta find a way out"- He has to find a way out of the 'American Ghetto'
Then the repeated "Bring all my people with me" means that he wants to bring his family out of this poverty too.
This next verse is my favorite, "Deeper in and deeper still the belly was the bank / The lion holds the mouth we feed still died at forty-five" I think Portugal the Man means that falling deeper into poverty they were more concerned with just getting food into their stomachs, then they were with getting money. They were just getting by day by day, and that lifestyle led the people around to die at forty-five.
The rest of the song is about him having hope of escaping the ghetto and bringing all his people with him.