Ezra Koenig, being a diaspora Jew, spent lots of time in Israel before and during the production of this album. The MVOTC album itself is a confrontation and a near-rejection of his own Jewish identity - with Finger Back and Ya Hey cutting closer to the bone than any other songs on the album.
Israeli citizens are required to serve at least two years in the military. The entire first verse (bend my finger back...on and on for days) refers to the rigorous training that goes into preparing for combat. From an extreme leftist point of view, this could represent brainwashing of IDF troops as well.
Many diaspora Jews spend time on the line as well because it's an honor to their family and a service to their motherland. The song's chorus alludes to this (it's etiquette, you idiot, spend time behind the line). The following verses allude to the influx of interest in Israel and Jewish culture as of late, what with migration of diaspora Jews into Israel, desire for Jewish conversion (everybody wants you, but baby you are mine) but Koenig, disagreeing with Israel's political and military culture, is embarrassed of the country's wrongdoings and calls them out (baby, you're not anybody's fool).
The second verse is Koenig's subsequent lamentation (bless me with a heart attack...exonerating me from being right). He is unhappy with the actions of the Jewish state with which he is associated by birth.
The combination of Koenig's observation of Israeli military culture and his expression of grief at what he has found lay the perfect foundation for the story of the Orthodox girl and the falafel shop guy (who, after verse 1 and 2, we can assume is Palestinian). These verses are very literal. This story and the lyrical break at the end of the song bring the entire story back home to New York. This is to emphasize that despite the fact that the conflict is far away from the US, it affects everyone from teenage soldiers there to would-be lovers in the US.
Ezra Koenig, being a diaspora Jew, spent lots of time in Israel before and during the production of this album. The MVOTC album itself is a confrontation and a near-rejection of his own Jewish identity - with Finger Back and Ya Hey cutting closer to the bone than any other songs on the album.
Israeli citizens are required to serve at least two years in the military. The entire first verse (bend my finger back...on and on for days) refers to the rigorous training that goes into preparing for combat. From an extreme leftist point of view, this could represent brainwashing of IDF troops as well.
Many diaspora Jews spend time on the line as well because it's an honor to their family and a service to their motherland. The song's chorus alludes to this (it's etiquette, you idiot, spend time behind the line). The following verses allude to the influx of interest in Israel and Jewish culture as of late, what with migration of diaspora Jews into Israel, desire for Jewish conversion (everybody wants you, but baby you are mine) but Koenig, disagreeing with Israel's political and military culture, is embarrassed of the country's wrongdoings and calls them out (baby, you're not anybody's fool).
The second verse is Koenig's subsequent lamentation (bless me with a heart attack...exonerating me from being right). He is unhappy with the actions of the Jewish state with which he is associated by birth.
The combination of Koenig's observation of Israeli military culture and his expression of grief at what he has found lay the perfect foundation for the story of the Orthodox girl and the falafel shop guy (who, after verse 1 and 2, we can assume is Palestinian). These verses are very literal. This story and the lyrical break at the end of the song bring the entire story back home to New York. This is to emphasize that despite the fact that the conflict is far away from the US, it affects everyone from teenage soldiers there to would-be lovers in the US.