I think the socialism vs. capitalism interpretation is very clever but wrong. Here's why.
At the beginning of the song, the conflict is introduced: Is it good to be so unique that you cannot find your place in society, or is it better to find a station in life, a definite niche in the Grand Scheme of Things? The hero of the song decides in his maturity that the latter is more satisfying.
"And now after some thinking
I'd say I'd rather be
A functioning cog in some great machinery
Serving something beyond me"
What's beautiful, however, and is that Robin avoids singing for a specific ideology or social structure. In fact, he deliberately makes the hero sing that he does not yet know his purpose in life is, that he's still working on it.
"But I don't, I don't know what that will be
I'll get back to you someday soon you will see"
In a way, Robin tells us, "I am searching my own purpose, I am working on my life's meaning. Don't ask me what your life's meaning is. You must work on it too."
Those two lines are simply beautiful both aesthetically and philosophically. From the philosophical point of view, Robin is saying that searing for meaning in life should not be done hastily, that one should mull over it patiently. Finally, Robin also tells us that one should not be ashamed that one's meaning in life is still under construction. In short, when someone asks you what your purpose in life is, do not be embarrassed to say, "I don't know what that will be, I'll get back to you someday soon you will see." (I can only wish I had Robin's voice when saying -- nay, singing -- that to someone.)
Now, although Robin sings through his hero that having a station in life is better than having no direction, he immediately dispels the listener's fear that he is endorsing a collectivist mentality. On the contrary, the hero states that those who will seek to control his destiny are surely his enemies. Although he wants to have a permanent station in life, he does not want the herd or the hive to lord over him.
Also, knowing Robin's capacity for literary allusion, I think the orchard part is a reference to those beautiful last phrases of Voltaire's Candide, where Candide declares that the best way to make a positive impact in society is by tending one's garden. "Tend your own garden," Voltaire says over and over again through the mouth of Candide in the final chapters of the short novel. The garden, of course, is both a literal and a metaphorical garden -- the best metaphors can also be interpreted literally without loss of meaning or beauty. It is the same with Pecknold's orchard, it can be interpreted both literally and metaphorically, either way it is as beautiful and as valid.
I think the socialism vs. capitalism interpretation is very clever but wrong. Here's why.
At the beginning of the song, the conflict is introduced: Is it good to be so unique that you cannot find your place in society, or is it better to find a station in life, a definite niche in the Grand Scheme of Things? The hero of the song decides in his maturity that the latter is more satisfying.
"And now after some thinking I'd say I'd rather be A functioning cog in some great machinery Serving something beyond me"
What's beautiful, however, and is that Robin avoids singing for a specific ideology or social structure. In fact, he deliberately makes the hero sing that he does not yet know his purpose in life is, that he's still working on it.
"But I don't, I don't know what that will be I'll get back to you someday soon you will see"
In a way, Robin tells us, "I am searching my own purpose, I am working on my life's meaning. Don't ask me what your life's meaning is. You must work on it too."
Those two lines are simply beautiful both aesthetically and philosophically. From the philosophical point of view, Robin is saying that searing for meaning in life should not be done hastily, that one should mull over it patiently. Finally, Robin also tells us that one should not be ashamed that one's meaning in life is still under construction. In short, when someone asks you what your purpose in life is, do not be embarrassed to say, "I don't know what that will be, I'll get back to you someday soon you will see." (I can only wish I had Robin's voice when saying -- nay, singing -- that to someone.)
Now, although Robin sings through his hero that having a station in life is better than having no direction, he immediately dispels the listener's fear that he is endorsing a collectivist mentality. On the contrary, the hero states that those who will seek to control his destiny are surely his enemies. Although he wants to have a permanent station in life, he does not want the herd or the hive to lord over him.
Also, knowing Robin's capacity for literary allusion, I think the orchard part is a reference to those beautiful last phrases of Voltaire's Candide, where Candide declares that the best way to make a positive impact in society is by tending one's garden. "Tend your own garden," Voltaire says over and over again through the mouth of Candide in the final chapters of the short novel. The garden, of course, is both a literal and a metaphorical garden -- the best metaphors can also be interpreted literally without loss of meaning or beauty. It is the same with Pecknold's orchard, it can be interpreted both literally and metaphorically, either way it is as beautiful and as valid.
BTW, this is my first post. Yay!