Other than the first two lines, this song is almost directly quoting the DaoDeJing of Laozi.
Chapter 56:
"Those who know do not talk.
Those who talk do not know.
Close your mouth,
block off your senses,
blunt the sharpness,
untangle the tangles,
soften your glare,
merge with the dust.
This is known as enigmatic unity
And so one can neither be too familiar with nor too distant
from them;
One can neither benefit nor harm them;
One can neither honor nor demean them,
And so they are honored by the whole world."
The DaoDeJing was written in response to the violent and insane times of the Warring States Period.
When Stereolab sings "Crazy, sturdy, a torpedo; Crazy, brutal, a torpedo" they are criticizing war. Given the Daoist context, perhaps the change from "sturdy"
to "brutal" is meant to show that a torpedo (national defense) isn't actually sturdy at all, it's just insane and disruptive. Real sturdyness is the sturdyness of calm tranquility and peace.
Other than the first two lines, this song is almost directly quoting the DaoDeJing of Laozi.
Chapter 56: "Those who know do not talk. Those who talk do not know.
Close your mouth, block off your senses, blunt the sharpness, untangle the tangles, soften your glare, merge with the dust. This is known as enigmatic unity
And so one can neither be too familiar with nor too distant from them; One can neither benefit nor harm them; One can neither honor nor demean them, And so they are honored by the whole world."
The DaoDeJing was written in response to the violent and insane times of the Warring States Period.
When Stereolab sings "Crazy, sturdy, a torpedo; Crazy, brutal, a torpedo" they are criticizing war. Given the Daoist context, perhaps the change from "sturdy" to "brutal" is meant to show that a torpedo (national defense) isn't actually sturdy at all, it's just insane and disruptive. Real sturdyness is the sturdyness of calm tranquility and peace.