I can't help thinking about the revolutions that happened all around the world in the beginning of this decade: the Arab Spring, for instance, and the riots in Brazil for less corruption in the government. The city is a great stage for all of that, and here Banks seems to celebrate that. "Oh, fuck the ancient ways/ They are heretofore/ Show no claim", means that people should not feel subdued to a power that is in government for a long period of time - and they shouldn't show mercy in representing all their dissatisfaction.
All the noise that usually follows a riot is represented in "Oh, shape the fight of sound/ Become beautifully bound to the ground". The constant mention of a supposed "station" may represent a place where people usually meet themselves to make this noise. In "Come in people and enjoy our glow/ Every change we allow", they clearly show that a change is needed and now is time for them perform it in the streets. "They are to be beaten to the weight of it" may show that the government is going to feel threatened by these manifestations.
By the end of the song, he seems to look for all that's bothering people: the social causes, personal dissatisfactions and unfulfilled promises. It's like he's saying: "Hey, guys, don't you think they [the government] should know all of this and make something about it?"
This is a great song!
I can't help thinking about the revolutions that happened all around the world in the beginning of this decade: the Arab Spring, for instance, and the riots in Brazil for less corruption in the government. The city is a great stage for all of that, and here Banks seems to celebrate that. "Oh, fuck the ancient ways/ They are heretofore/ Show no claim", means that people should not feel subdued to a power that is in government for a long period of time - and they shouldn't show mercy in representing all their dissatisfaction.
All the noise that usually follows a riot is represented in "Oh, shape the fight of sound/ Become beautifully bound to the ground". The constant mention of a supposed "station" may represent a place where people usually meet themselves to make this noise. In "Come in people and enjoy our glow/ Every change we allow", they clearly show that a change is needed and now is time for them perform it in the streets. "They are to be beaten to the weight of it" may show that the government is going to feel threatened by these manifestations.
By the end of the song, he seems to look for all that's bothering people: the social causes, personal dissatisfactions and unfulfilled promises. It's like he's saying: "Hey, guys, don't you think they [the government] should know all of this and make something about it?"