I agree with those that have mentioned WALL-E, this song (and the entire album actually) definitely has an apocalyptic/dystopian tone.
The "smoke stack clouds with glory attached" I have always thought either meant clouds of pollution, as if from a factory ("smoke stack")-- or, alternatively and maybe more likely, they could be references to the mushroom clouds produced by nuclear weapons.
The earlier mention of "the ghost of a bomb" would seem to support this conclusion-- as well as the general scene of desolation and destruction.
Furthermore, the reference to lifeless "toys" whose armor has worn off conjures the image of army generals "playing with toys," as if in a giant childrens' game-- not realizing the true implication of what they are doing. (This is a fairly common critique of the psychological nature of militarism). In this case the toys would be nuclear weapons.
Another part which makes me think it's about nuclear war is the reference to wind blowing from a "tundra" -- nuclear winter -- "where the jungle begins" (e.g. environmental chaos, with climate zones that would never naturally be adjacent to each other.... and there are only a couple things that could cause winter-like conditions in the tropics, one being nuclear war and the other being some sort of super-volcano or asteroid impact).
Also, "guns in a church" seems to be a thematic reference to the connection between religious fundamentalism and the concept of nuclear "Armageddon"-- certainly some extreme fundamentalist thought considers nuclear annihilation to legitimately have "glory attached" in the sense that these weapons have the power to vanquish the sinners/anti-christ/enemies of christianity etc. in the "final battle,"-- as a sort of perversely righteous wrath of god.
The "hope in a roadblock" would also seem to reference the "war on terror" in the sense that we "hope" security (roadblocks) will prevent some sort of catastrophic attack, such as a nuclear detonation or dirty bomb, etc. carried out (supposedly) by the other side of the fundamentalist coin-- Islamic fundamentalists.
Lastly, "the Lord will... drive us into the dirt" seems to pretty obviously indicate the extinction of the human race-- perhaps as a response to our arrogance and carelessness in playing with these "toys."
I agree with those that have mentioned WALL-E, this song (and the entire album actually) definitely has an apocalyptic/dystopian tone.
The "smoke stack clouds with glory attached" I have always thought either meant clouds of pollution, as if from a factory ("smoke stack")-- or, alternatively and maybe more likely, they could be references to the mushroom clouds produced by nuclear weapons.
The earlier mention of "the ghost of a bomb" would seem to support this conclusion-- as well as the general scene of desolation and destruction.
Furthermore, the reference to lifeless "toys" whose armor has worn off conjures the image of army generals "playing with toys," as if in a giant childrens' game-- not realizing the true implication of what they are doing. (This is a fairly common critique of the psychological nature of militarism). In this case the toys would be nuclear weapons.
Another part which makes me think it's about nuclear war is the reference to wind blowing from a "tundra" -- nuclear winter -- "where the jungle begins" (e.g. environmental chaos, with climate zones that would never naturally be adjacent to each other.... and there are only a couple things that could cause winter-like conditions in the tropics, one being nuclear war and the other being some sort of super-volcano or asteroid impact).
Also, "guns in a church" seems to be a thematic reference to the connection between religious fundamentalism and the concept of nuclear "Armageddon"-- certainly some extreme fundamentalist thought considers nuclear annihilation to legitimately have "glory attached" in the sense that these weapons have the power to vanquish the sinners/anti-christ/enemies of christianity etc. in the "final battle,"-- as a sort of perversely righteous wrath of god.
The "hope in a roadblock" would also seem to reference the "war on terror" in the sense that we "hope" security (roadblocks) will prevent some sort of catastrophic attack, such as a nuclear detonation or dirty bomb, etc. carried out (supposedly) by the other side of the fundamentalist coin-- Islamic fundamentalists.
Lastly, "the Lord will... drive us into the dirt" seems to pretty obviously indicate the extinction of the human race-- perhaps as a response to our arrogance and carelessness in playing with these "toys."
Oh also, and this might be a stretch, but Edward Bond wrote a play (The War Plays), of which part 2 is called "The Tin Can People".... and it happens to be about the aftermath of a nuclear war: http://books.google.com/books?id=ASzIW5a6wYsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Oh also, and this might be a stretch, but Edward Bond wrote a play (The War Plays), of which part 2 is called "The Tin Can People".... and it happens to be about the aftermath of a nuclear war: http://books.google.com/books?id=ASzIW5a6wYsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false