I can see where the link with George Orwell's 1984 might come from, but really for me it's more about the decline and fall of empires, the wars that precede each decline, followed by the rise of the new power. The song speaks in particular of 'these wars, which can't be won', Iraq and Afghanistan spring to mind.
The whole lyrical play on 'United States', makes it obvious to me that the empire that is being talked of is the USA, being replaced by an empire spanning the Eurasian continent, namely Europe, the Russian states, ( former USSR), and China.
This song is one of the many that speak of a dystopian future, and also point out that our present isn't much better, wars leading to more wars, mistakes of the past forgotten about and repeated, repression of personal freedoms, it's all in there.
I can see where the link with George Orwell's 1984 might come from, but really for me it's more about the decline and fall of empires, the wars that precede each decline, followed by the rise of the new power. The song speaks in particular of 'these wars, which can't be won', Iraq and Afghanistan spring to mind.
The whole lyrical play on 'United States', makes it obvious to me that the empire that is being talked of is the USA, being replaced by an empire spanning the Eurasian continent, namely Europe, the Russian states, ( former USSR), and China.
This song is one of the many that speak of a dystopian future, and also point out that our present isn't much better, wars leading to more wars, mistakes of the past forgotten about and repeated, repression of personal freedoms, it's all in there.