This song is about the experience of rave culture, and how that provided (for some) a view of the world that allowed outcasts to be stars, the losers to be winners; the "weak become heroes".
"The night slowly fades and goes slow motion
All the commotion becomes floating emotions
Same piano loops over"
Rave culture is full of people who never "fit in" popular culture; the nerds and freaks and hippies. Through the experience of this music, dancing, and social space, they were able to overcome their alienation and access the beauty of the world and each-other.
"Sea of people, all equal
Smiles are front and behind me
Swim in the deep blue sea corn fields sway lazily
All smiles all easy"
At a rave, you're often on drugs like MDMA, which provide (at least for the first few trips) a glimpse of absolute beauty and tenderness, a mysterious personal connection with friends and strangers. Of course, when the morning comes and the drugs run out, that connection can be lost. It is a fragile absolute. The Streets point toward this contradiction, and its bittersweet reality; just because the feeling is gone doesn't mean the experience needs to be lost. You can keep that feeling, but only if you integrate it into your life and use it to improve your personality and clarity of vision; the experience, and your fate as a human being, is defined and understood in retrospect.
"All come together for this party
All races many faces from places you never heard of
Where ya from, what's ya name and what ya want?
Sing to the words fecks to the fat ones
The tribal drums the sun's rising
We all smile
We all sing"
Mike gives us the point of view of looking back on rave culture, which was for many people the bridge from childhood to adolescence, and then the growth into adulthood. This song evokes the nostalgia of growing up, because it is only as an adult that you can understand the meaning behind these experiences.
"then the girl in the cafe' taps me on the shoulder
I realize 5yrs went by and I'm older
memories smoulder winters colder
but that same piano loops over and over and over"
This song is about the experience of rave culture, and how that provided (for some) a view of the world that allowed outcasts to be stars, the losers to be winners; the "weak become heroes".
"The night slowly fades and goes slow motion All the commotion becomes floating emotions Same piano loops over"
Rave culture is full of people who never "fit in" popular culture; the nerds and freaks and hippies. Through the experience of this music, dancing, and social space, they were able to overcome their alienation and access the beauty of the world and each-other.
"Sea of people, all equal Smiles are front and behind me Swim in the deep blue sea corn fields sway lazily All smiles all easy"
At a rave, you're often on drugs like MDMA, which provide (at least for the first few trips) a glimpse of absolute beauty and tenderness, a mysterious personal connection with friends and strangers. Of course, when the morning comes and the drugs run out, that connection can be lost. It is a fragile absolute. The Streets point toward this contradiction, and its bittersweet reality; just because the feeling is gone doesn't mean the experience needs to be lost. You can keep that feeling, but only if you integrate it into your life and use it to improve your personality and clarity of vision; the experience, and your fate as a human being, is defined and understood in retrospect.
"All come together for this party All races many faces from places you never heard of Where ya from, what's ya name and what ya want? Sing to the words fecks to the fat ones The tribal drums the sun's rising We all smile We all sing"
Mike gives us the point of view of looking back on rave culture, which was for many people the bridge from childhood to adolescence, and then the growth into adulthood. This song evokes the nostalgia of growing up, because it is only as an adult that you can understand the meaning behind these experiences.
"then the girl in the cafe' taps me on the shoulder I realize 5yrs went by and I'm older memories smoulder winters colder but that same piano loops over and over and over"