I am not extremely familiar with them, but I think this is their most powerful song. It is incredibly unique, it hints at a huge building crescendo, then actually delivers, and rides the momentum. The neil young intro is great. I became familiar with this song in 1992 when my Dad had both his wrists in braces because of a rare degenerative condition (sort of like carpal tunnel but not fixable) and at the same time I was going through some extreme challenges with a back injury that caused me to drop out of school. I felt this song spoke for me as if to say "Dad - I am in a world of shit - I cannot find an escape from this condition, and I turn to you for help - but instead of reassurance and comfort and guidance, I see you are in a world of shit too, with your hands, and not only unable to help fix ME, but unable to fix yourself. It was a very dark period for us both. Hands are a symbol of action, of DOING, of FIXING and effecting change, of touch, and giving reassurance, but in that case in 1992 they could not steer me to safety. I forgive my Dad for not being perfect and have a very good relationship with him now - his hands and my back are better for the most part, but I still (aside from the literal interpretation of the injuries) see it as an ongoing universal parallel, wherein the child feels as though he should be able to turn to the parent always, and see that parent as a ROCK - meaning an unrelenting positive, stabilizing force that is perfect and impenetrable, but in reality, because parents are only human (meaning, flawed), at some point the child realizes that, and realizes that the parent CANNOT always be there, and has their own issues. That realization at first brings shock and fear, and disappointment, but it eventualy is accepted, the reality cannot be ignored - sometimes you just have to admit we live a world that at times has issues, flaws, and challenges, and all you can do is try your best to navigate through, and hope to build as much fun and happiness as you can while working through the all the incredibly difficult challenges.
I am not extremely familiar with them, but I think this is their most powerful song. It is incredibly unique, it hints at a huge building crescendo, then actually delivers, and rides the momentum. The neil young intro is great. I became familiar with this song in 1992 when my Dad had both his wrists in braces because of a rare degenerative condition (sort of like carpal tunnel but not fixable) and at the same time I was going through some extreme challenges with a back injury that caused me to drop out of school. I felt this song spoke for me as if to say "Dad - I am in a world of shit - I cannot find an escape from this condition, and I turn to you for help - but instead of reassurance and comfort and guidance, I see you are in a world of shit too, with your hands, and not only unable to help fix ME, but unable to fix yourself. It was a very dark period for us both. Hands are a symbol of action, of DOING, of FIXING and effecting change, of touch, and giving reassurance, but in that case in 1992 they could not steer me to safety. I forgive my Dad for not being perfect and have a very good relationship with him now - his hands and my back are better for the most part, but I still (aside from the literal interpretation of the injuries) see it as an ongoing universal parallel, wherein the child feels as though he should be able to turn to the parent always, and see that parent as a ROCK - meaning an unrelenting positive, stabilizing force that is perfect and impenetrable, but in reality, because parents are only human (meaning, flawed), at some point the child realizes that, and realizes that the parent CANNOT always be there, and has their own issues. That realization at first brings shock and fear, and disappointment, but it eventualy is accepted, the reality cannot be ignored - sometimes you just have to admit we live a world that at times has issues, flaws, and challenges, and all you can do is try your best to navigate through, and hope to build as much fun and happiness as you can while working through the all the incredibly difficult challenges.