Lyric discussion by SicuMFOX 

Cover art for Dirty Paws lyrics by Of Monsters And Men

Okay this is not my opinion but a friends or rather a commentor from another website I think this explains the song nicely though there are probably many ways of more explaining

For anyone wondering: The song is about WW2. Germany was the bees France and Britain were the birds Americans as dirty paws Russia as creatures of the snow "The forest" is Europe "The holes" are the trenches "The killing machines" are the newly introduced artillery and turrets The U.S. was called 'dirty paws' because of the presence in most international wars And "The four dirty paws" are the wars that were 'popularly' fought - Revolutionary, Civil, WW1, and WW2.

Song Meaning