These lyrics are somewhat mysterious to me, but they make me think of the character of Maria in Fritz Lang's 1927 movie Metropolis. She's a sort of messianic figure who is trying to educate the working class on how to assert their rights against the oppressive ruling class. It's hard to imagine a character like that would be the subject of a pretty straightforward pop song, even one by a generally non-mainstream musician like Richard Thompson, but I really can't think of any other logical possibility or explanation.
These lyrics are somewhat mysterious to me, but they make me think of the character of Maria in Fritz Lang's 1927 movie Metropolis. She's a sort of messianic figure who is trying to educate the working class on how to assert their rights against the oppressive ruling class. It's hard to imagine a character like that would be the subject of a pretty straightforward pop song, even one by a generally non-mainstream musician like Richard Thompson, but I really can't think of any other logical possibility or explanation.