Seems like it's a song about the American civil war and specifically general Sherman's march to the sea (Savannah). Sean eludes to it in this live performance at the 3:05 mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGqWOitd8QY
This road leads to rome: The sea (Savannah) or victory
That road leads to ruin: Death or loss
I’m all up in the madding crowd Frenzied crowd
The general’s been screwin’ us around. Robert E. Lee's resistance.
The land’s no longer arable: Sherman's scorched earth tactic.
(The farmhands all feel terrible): Confederate soldiers... most of them were farmers before the war bgan
A river red with rebel blood: Winning bloody battles against rebel (confederate) forces
To sweep us off our feet: To give hope of victory all the way to Savannah.
Humility on parade humility on parade: Confederates loss and shame
The welcome was overstayed: The South's unwillingness to abolish slavery amd to relinquish states rights.
The remnants of the leisure class will crumble!: The end of plantation (slave) owners.
Smug bastards will be humbled!: Forced to surrender and give up their wealth for reperations of the war.
No bow ties: No more southern aristocrats running the south
Bo invitations! : No more offers of peace ..just miltary takeover.
Goodbye to all of that: The old south will be gone forever.
You gotta look the prisoners in the eyes: Try to understand why the confederates feel the way they did.
A boldness in their stare you might not recognize: Confederates desire to fight so hard even though they were overmatched
As you struggle to recall your names: Americans (pre-civil war) and Americans again (post war).
Family and christian family and christian: brother against brother, christian againt christian
Untenable position!: End of the conferderacy
Here comes the inquisition: Now the south must bear the consequences of their action.
("yeah, it’ll come it’ll come it’ll surely come!")
I am the mustard on the wedding dress. The weevil in the watercress: The big stain or negative conflict in American history
I lost the language, I confess: Time heals (after end of war)
Beyond the false horizon lies the rising up, the rising up: What could have been a confederate win, system of government and idealogy is replaced with hope for a stronger unified nation.
Seems like it's a song about the American civil war and specifically general Sherman's march to the sea (Savannah). Sean eludes to it in this live performance at the 3:05 mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGqWOitd8QY
This road leads to rome: The sea (Savannah) or victory That road leads to ruin: Death or loss I’m all up in the madding crowd Frenzied crowd The general’s been screwin’ us around. Robert E. Lee's resistance. The land’s no longer arable: Sherman's scorched earth tactic. (The farmhands all feel terrible): Confederate soldiers... most of them were farmers before the war bgan A river red with rebel blood: Winning bloody battles against rebel (confederate) forces To sweep us off our feet: To give hope of victory all the way to Savannah.
Humility on parade humility on parade: Confederates loss and shame The welcome was overstayed: The South's unwillingness to abolish slavery amd to relinquish states rights.
The remnants of the leisure class will crumble!: The end of plantation (slave) owners. Smug bastards will be humbled!: Forced to surrender and give up their wealth for reperations of the war. No bow ties: No more southern aristocrats running the south Bo invitations! : No more offers of peace ..just miltary takeover. Goodbye to all of that: The old south will be gone forever.
You gotta look the prisoners in the eyes: Try to understand why the confederates feel the way they did. A boldness in their stare you might not recognize: Confederates desire to fight so hard even though they were overmatched As you struggle to recall your names: Americans (pre-civil war) and Americans again (post war). Family and christian family and christian: brother against brother, christian againt christian Untenable position!: End of the conferderacy Here comes the inquisition: Now the south must bear the consequences of their action. ("yeah, it’ll come it’ll come it’ll surely come!")
I am the mustard on the wedding dress. The weevil in the watercress: The big stain or negative conflict in American history I lost the language, I confess: Time heals (after end of war) Beyond the false horizon lies the rising up, the rising up: What could have been a confederate win, system of government and idealogy is replaced with hope for a stronger unified nation.