Not sure how someone can listen to this song and come away feeling positively inspired... the song exudes beautiful hopelessness. The lyrics speak clearly of a Orwellian dystopia where freedom of movement is restricted ("...the electric fence/across the borders between continents"), clandestine surveillance is commonplace ("someone is listening from a safe distance") and a cult of personality surrounding a totalitarian leader is pervasive ("...past the mosaic of the head of state"). The chorus suggests the final abandonment of faith among the religious, which has historically been the last refuge of hope for the truly hopeless. The last lines before the final chorus drive the point home; the once-peaceful world within this song is in its death throes, humanity's evil elements have won out, and any hope of rebuilding is long gone. This tenor is particularly hammered home in Joan Osborne's cover on her 2008 album "Little Wild One." Both the original and that cover are hauntingly beautiful, and if you can listen to it and find inspiration, more power to you. As for me, if I were on Zoloft, I'd definitely take this track off of my iPod.
Not sure how someone can listen to this song and come away feeling positively inspired... the song exudes beautiful hopelessness. The lyrics speak clearly of a Orwellian dystopia where freedom of movement is restricted ("...the electric fence/across the borders between continents"), clandestine surveillance is commonplace ("someone is listening from a safe distance") and a cult of personality surrounding a totalitarian leader is pervasive ("...past the mosaic of the head of state"). The chorus suggests the final abandonment of faith among the religious, which has historically been the last refuge of hope for the truly hopeless. The last lines before the final chorus drive the point home; the once-peaceful world within this song is in its death throes, humanity's evil elements have won out, and any hope of rebuilding is long gone. This tenor is particularly hammered home in Joan Osborne's cover on her 2008 album "Little Wild One." Both the original and that cover are hauntingly beautiful, and if you can listen to it and find inspiration, more power to you. As for me, if I were on Zoloft, I'd definitely take this track off of my iPod.