This song is about the shock in the aftermath of 9/11, metaphorically feeling as if you're in a cocoon.
"Caught in Vesuvias' shadow/only the ashes remain" making a parallel between the destruction of that historical eruption and the destruction of 9/11.
"Here we lie waiting for something to startle/To shake us from gravity’s pull"...trying to come out of that shock.
"The sorry conclusion/the low dirty war/it happened before you came to...". The government rushed into the war before the people were even aware of what was going on and it was a bad solution for the attack.
"this quiet serves only to hide you/provide you/what I knew It'd come back to you". The "you" being the Bush administration. The American people are quiet, so you're able to get away with rushing into the war, but it'll back to haunt you.
"the tainted election" -- the controversy over the 2000 election.
"the hole in the sky" -- the absence of the twin towers.
"Command what is tried, what is true...So loosen your shoulder blades/This is your hour to make due." a call to action. we were so shocked and scared after 9/11 we let the government take over but now we need to "command what is tried was is true" and stand up for what's right.
I don't know if this is the correct interpretation or not, but it's certainly the one I'm going to be thinking of every time I hear the song from now on.... it makes a devastating amount of sense.
I don't know if this is the correct interpretation or not, but it's certainly the one I'm going to be thinking of every time I hear the song from now on.... it makes a devastating amount of sense.
I don't know, that sounds too political for the Decemberists. "The hole in the sky" may very well be referring to the hole in the ozone layer. It sounds to me like someone coming out of a coma that they'd been in while a lot of terrible events happened (the tainted election, the "low dirty war", the eruption of Vesuvius, etc.). Now they have to deal with the consequences of those events, their "hour to make due", even though they didn't see or take part in any of the events. I don't know if that's any more right, but I...
I don't know, that sounds too political for the Decemberists. "The hole in the sky" may very well be referring to the hole in the ozone layer. It sounds to me like someone coming out of a coma that they'd been in while a lot of terrible events happened (the tainted election, the "low dirty war", the eruption of Vesuvius, etc.). Now they have to deal with the consequences of those events, their "hour to make due", even though they didn't see or take part in any of the events. I don't know if that's any more right, but I feel like the Decemberists wouldn't write a song about something so controversial, especially with the stance you claim this song is portraying (one that believes we should all stand up to our government and do what is right). Not on this album, anyways.
This song is about the shock in the aftermath of 9/11, metaphorically feeling as if you're in a cocoon. "Caught in Vesuvias' shadow/only the ashes remain" making a parallel between the destruction of that historical eruption and the destruction of 9/11. "Here we lie waiting for something to startle/To shake us from gravity’s pull"...trying to come out of that shock. "The sorry conclusion/the low dirty war/it happened before you came to...". The government rushed into the war before the people were even aware of what was going on and it was a bad solution for the attack. "this quiet serves only to hide you/provide you/what I knew It'd come back to you". The "you" being the Bush administration. The American people are quiet, so you're able to get away with rushing into the war, but it'll back to haunt you. "the tainted election" -- the controversy over the 2000 election. "the hole in the sky" -- the absence of the twin towers. "Command what is tried, what is true...So loosen your shoulder blades/This is your hour to make due." a call to action. we were so shocked and scared after 9/11 we let the government take over but now we need to "command what is tried was is true" and stand up for what's right.
I don't know if this is the correct interpretation or not, but it's certainly the one I'm going to be thinking of every time I hear the song from now on.... it makes a devastating amount of sense.
I don't know if this is the correct interpretation or not, but it's certainly the one I'm going to be thinking of every time I hear the song from now on.... it makes a devastating amount of sense.
I don't know, that sounds too political for the Decemberists. "The hole in the sky" may very well be referring to the hole in the ozone layer. It sounds to me like someone coming out of a coma that they'd been in while a lot of terrible events happened (the tainted election, the "low dirty war", the eruption of Vesuvius, etc.). Now they have to deal with the consequences of those events, their "hour to make due", even though they didn't see or take part in any of the events. I don't know if that's any more right, but I...
I don't know, that sounds too political for the Decemberists. "The hole in the sky" may very well be referring to the hole in the ozone layer. It sounds to me like someone coming out of a coma that they'd been in while a lot of terrible events happened (the tainted election, the "low dirty war", the eruption of Vesuvius, etc.). Now they have to deal with the consequences of those events, their "hour to make due", even though they didn't see or take part in any of the events. I don't know if that's any more right, but I feel like the Decemberists wouldn't write a song about something so controversial, especially with the stance you claim this song is portraying (one that believes we should all stand up to our government and do what is right). Not on this album, anyways.