Statue of Liberty in the first verse; the verse after that is about offshore oil drilling.
Verse after the first chorus is about the Arab Spring.
Then the boy with the gun is a reference to school shootings, with a possible emphasis on the plight of the Aboriginal people (And the stories of his ancestors / They will never be sung).
The circus from the bridge is about the media circus / reality shows like the Kardashians, and how society lets troubled youth fall through the cracks while they're busy being distracted by things that do not concern them.
Statue of Liberty in the first verse; the verse after that is about offshore oil drilling. Verse after the first chorus is about the Arab Spring. Then the boy with the gun is a reference to school shootings, with a possible emphasis on the plight of the Aboriginal people (And the stories of his ancestors / They will never be sung). The circus from the bridge is about the media circus / reality shows like the Kardashians, and how society lets troubled youth fall through the cracks while they're busy being distracted by things that do not concern them.
P.s. correction: "pull a king", not "fallen king". From official lyrics: http://missyhiggins.com/2012/06/set-me-on-fire/ (yup, that's the URL to Hidden Ones)