This song is about the Vietnam Memorial in DC (near the area where the band formed in MD). The 58,000 names are the names on the wall that you read as you descend below ground level. The memorial is part of the Mall, a "short walk across the lawn" from the White House and US Capitol. He is asking people in power to realize the consequences for the soldiers they are sending into war, and on the native populations in the "waking valleys" that get destroyed in their geo-political game.
This song is about the Vietnam Memorial in DC (near the area where the band formed in MD). The 58,000 names are the names on the wall that you read as you descend below ground level. The memorial is part of the Mall, a "short walk across the lawn" from the White House and US Capitol. He is asking people in power to realize the consequences for the soldiers they are sending into war, and on the native populations in the "waking valleys" that get destroyed in their geo-political game.