Taking into account that Emily Haines/Jimmy Shaw said in an interview that "Youth Without Youth" is about the current economic situation and how it's screwing over today's youth, I think this song is along those same lines.
I think it's specifically about the housing crash. "Distant lightning, thunder claps
/Watched our neighbor's house collapse/Looked the other way." That's happening all over the place - our neighbors' houses are foreclosing, and we're just looking the other way.
"Built a mansion in a day" - sort of a double interpretation here. 1) It could mean people buying into homes they can't afford, essentially "building a mansion in a day," not foreseeing that they won't be able to afford said mansion.
Or 2) "In another mansion built to last" - the 1%, if you will, chillin' in their mansions, watching as the 99% are dealing with the "storm overhead," having to "auction off their memories" (memories made in their homes).
I dunno, I'm probably reading way too much into it, being way too specific.
Taking into account that Emily Haines/Jimmy Shaw said in an interview that "Youth Without Youth" is about the current economic situation and how it's screwing over today's youth, I think this song is along those same lines.
I think it's specifically about the housing crash. "Distant lightning, thunder claps /Watched our neighbor's house collapse/Looked the other way." That's happening all over the place - our neighbors' houses are foreclosing, and we're just looking the other way.
"Built a mansion in a day" - sort of a double interpretation here. 1) It could mean people buying into homes they can't afford, essentially "building a mansion in a day," not foreseeing that they won't be able to afford said mansion.
Or 2) "In another mansion built to last" - the 1%, if you will, chillin' in their mansions, watching as the 99% are dealing with the "storm overhead," having to "auction off their memories" (memories made in their homes).
I dunno, I'm probably reading way too much into it, being way too specific.