I think this song tells its story or conveys its meaning using (1) an oppressive enemy, (2) a hero character breaking free and destroying the enemy, and (3) a timid outside observer describing the process and becoming inspired by it.
Because the process being described is a difficult one, there has to be both the ideal hero performing the feat and a reluctant conventional person/perspective whom the listener can identify with. The process described in the song is a difficult one to undergo and prior to going through it one can identify with the feelings of "As for me? I'd let the panic ride out, and then just put together my thoughts the wall (where no one would know it was me and I can hide behind that anonymity and avoid the suffering that comes with being the messenger)" or feelings of "For so long I've been held down, oppressed and blinded by these demons". The observer, or anyone oppressed by psychological/emotional/spiritual torment feels the reluctance to look themselves in the mirror, face their own demons and take personal responsibility for freeing themselves. Yet they also feel the push, the inner conflict and burning desire to do so.
The hero stands sacrificially open, vulnerable and outnumbered against a stronger enemy, mobbing crowd (of their demons). It seems to be a description of facing pride or ego, and being overmatched against it. The observer naturally reacts by sort of shaking their head, goading them on almost comically as if they think it unwise for the hero character to be putting themselves out there (the way we would shake our heads at somebody poking a sleeping grizzly bear with a stick). The observer then drops a clue as to what's involved in this confrontation the hero character is performing: identifying pride.
In catholic tradition pride is the deadliest sin, seen as a futile attempt to equate oneself with god. In greek mythology one of their most scorned negative qualities (and a central moral of their stories) is the inflated pride ("Hubris") that leads to the fall of characters like Phaeton, Icarus, Minos and others. And in years it's the over-zealous preacher hiding behind a loud, condemning sermon all the while sinning behind the scenes that's become another picture of pride and failing to confront and deal with one's inner demons. That later image is most relevant to this song as the person going through a confrontation with their own pride will learn real quickly if their motives and intent is pure when they stand up against a swarming "crowd" of their own demons.
The observer seems also to undergo a transformation of their own, going from shaking their head (almost mocking the hero a little) to identifying how oppressed they too feel, to then expressing admiration and "best wishes" for the hero, ending by hoping and counting down the time for their own freedom. Their wishing the hero well seems to be expressed by a (I'm paraphrasing what I see in these lyrics): "may your sources lead and connect you to a source that's ten-fold, so you're no longer outnumbered against and can take on your demons. to do so, may you identify in yourself what's 'you' and lose it, so that higher source can connect to and become you".
So what I see here is the process of personal growth that occurs when we have the courage to overcome what's negative in us. The writer seems to imply that you don't/can't do that on your own, but the irony is that if you don't want to be on your own you have to lose what you identify as "you" (pride, ego, etc), and after doing so the transformation of becoming more than yourself (connecting to a higher source) can then take place.
An exhausting, self-critical, self-denying, and all-around painful process to endure (the saddest of chores), but is perhaps preferable to being blindfolded, oppressed, and having the inner fire of one's being tamed behind a civilized demeanor that is tossed about and tortured by fate.
I think this song tells its story or conveys its meaning using (1) an oppressive enemy, (2) a hero character breaking free and destroying the enemy, and (3) a timid outside observer describing the process and becoming inspired by it.
Because the process being described is a difficult one, there has to be both the ideal hero performing the feat and a reluctant conventional person/perspective whom the listener can identify with. The process described in the song is a difficult one to undergo and prior to going through it one can identify with the feelings of "As for me? I'd let the panic ride out, and then just put together my thoughts the wall (where no one would know it was me and I can hide behind that anonymity and avoid the suffering that comes with being the messenger)" or feelings of "For so long I've been held down, oppressed and blinded by these demons". The observer, or anyone oppressed by psychological/emotional/spiritual torment feels the reluctance to look themselves in the mirror, face their own demons and take personal responsibility for freeing themselves. Yet they also feel the push, the inner conflict and burning desire to do so.
The hero stands sacrificially open, vulnerable and outnumbered against a stronger enemy, mobbing crowd (of their demons). It seems to be a description of facing pride or ego, and being overmatched against it. The observer naturally reacts by sort of shaking their head, goading them on almost comically as if they think it unwise for the hero character to be putting themselves out there (the way we would shake our heads at somebody poking a sleeping grizzly bear with a stick). The observer then drops a clue as to what's involved in this confrontation the hero character is performing: identifying pride.
In catholic tradition pride is the deadliest sin, seen as a futile attempt to equate oneself with god. In greek mythology one of their most scorned negative qualities (and a central moral of their stories) is the inflated pride ("Hubris") that leads to the fall of characters like Phaeton, Icarus, Minos and others. And in years it's the over-zealous preacher hiding behind a loud, condemning sermon all the while sinning behind the scenes that's become another picture of pride and failing to confront and deal with one's inner demons. That later image is most relevant to this song as the person going through a confrontation with their own pride will learn real quickly if their motives and intent is pure when they stand up against a swarming "crowd" of their own demons.
The observer seems also to undergo a transformation of their own, going from shaking their head (almost mocking the hero a little) to identifying how oppressed they too feel, to then expressing admiration and "best wishes" for the hero, ending by hoping and counting down the time for their own freedom. Their wishing the hero well seems to be expressed by a (I'm paraphrasing what I see in these lyrics): "may your sources lead and connect you to a source that's ten-fold, so you're no longer outnumbered against and can take on your demons. to do so, may you identify in yourself what's 'you' and lose it, so that higher source can connect to and become you".
So what I see here is the process of personal growth that occurs when we have the courage to overcome what's negative in us. The writer seems to imply that you don't/can't do that on your own, but the irony is that if you don't want to be on your own you have to lose what you identify as "you" (pride, ego, etc), and after doing so the transformation of becoming more than yourself (connecting to a higher source) can then take place.
An exhausting, self-critical, self-denying, and all-around painful process to endure (the saddest of chores), but is perhaps preferable to being blindfolded, oppressed, and having the inner fire of one's being tamed behind a civilized demeanor that is tossed about and tortured by fate.