I think think Elvis is being loosely biographic to paint a picture of what it is to live in a pseudo Christian, capitalistic reality.
It's a musician talking about being lower middle class
"... I had a little money, government burglars took it long before I could give it to you..."
The chorus is trying to make sense of life, of chaos and an unfair world. It's making reference to imperfection as sin.
This idea is made stronger by the yet again Christian "of I were a saint" in verse 2. This is where is music references also become clear. Success as a hit song on a radio, and this translating into monetary success, fame, and freedom "hand in hand, coast to coast".
This verse also has a very traditional allusion to love, as a male caretaker is going to faithfully love his sweetheart and be able to hit it big enough to transcend his middle class.
Again, the chorus elaborates on how the struggle of this insidious western slavery is "nobody's fault, but we need somebody to burn". A need to vent the frustration of the situation versus the longing of the far away dream.
The last verse keeps painting the picture of this bare bones life and finally shows is that he's tired of "living on the outskirts of town". It's musically genius how Elvis drags out this verse at the end when he slows down and sings "... How much longer?" It's the extra hour of work, the extra day, the extra mile that is asked of us, and tires us.
In conclusion I think it's about needing something to throw blame at when looking out at a world that seems wrong, and using our Christian symbolism to do so.
I think think Elvis is being loosely biographic to paint a picture of what it is to live in a pseudo Christian, capitalistic reality.
It's a musician talking about being lower middle class
"... I had a little money, government burglars took it long before I could give it to you..."
The chorus is trying to make sense of life, of chaos and an unfair world. It's making reference to imperfection as sin.
This idea is made stronger by the yet again Christian "of I were a saint" in verse 2. This is where is music references also become clear. Success as a hit song on a radio, and this translating into monetary success, fame, and freedom "hand in hand, coast to coast".
This verse also has a very traditional allusion to love, as a male caretaker is going to faithfully love his sweetheart and be able to hit it big enough to transcend his middle class.
Again, the chorus elaborates on how the struggle of this insidious western slavery is "nobody's fault, but we need somebody to burn". A need to vent the frustration of the situation versus the longing of the far away dream.
The last verse keeps painting the picture of this bare bones life and finally shows is that he's tired of "living on the outskirts of town". It's musically genius how Elvis drags out this verse at the end when he slows down and sings "... How much longer?" It's the extra hour of work, the extra day, the extra mile that is asked of us, and tires us.
In conclusion I think it's about needing something to throw blame at when looking out at a world that seems wrong, and using our Christian symbolism to do so.