It's not letting me fix it, but the last line of the third verse is actually: "Now everything is plundered" Not thunder.
And I have the feeling this isn't about lost youth or a relationship, but about some idealistic people whose progress was crushed by the powers that be, and one of whom took the blame and was punished despite having committed no crime (I died a thousand times/ found guilty of no crime/ now everything is plundered.)
I've recently noticed that a lot of cryptic songs from that time period seem to refer to some mysterious lost time of idealism and social progress that was clamped down by the powers that be (maybe in a collective past life?). Songs like this one, the Icicle Works' Whisper to a Scream, the Pretenders' Back on the Chain Gang, the Alarm's Blaze of Glory, the Waterboys' A Girl Called Johnny and Whole of the Moon, and I'm sure there are countless others I can't think of at the moment. But I've realized that all of these cryptic lyrics suddenly make some sense I see them in the context of this mythical time of crushed progress. I have the feeling that I'll finally know what this mythical time was all about when I die, and I can't wait to find out.
@epiwoosh Actually, it\'s really "everything is thunder". It is printed in the CD booklet. And right now I\'m listening to the "exclusive acoustic version" on their homepage where this is clearly audible. ;-)
@epiwoosh Actually, it\'s really "everything is thunder". It is printed in the CD booklet. And right now I\'m listening to the "exclusive acoustic version" on their homepage where this is clearly audible. ;-)
@epiwoosh I don't disagree in general, but "Back on the Chain Gang" IMO is about Chrissy missing the late Jimmy Scott and Pete Farndon, who made up half the original Pretenders lineup and both died far too young. In other words, it's not a mythical time, but a real time when they were making excellent music together, and knew it. Also, reaction to the Thatcher government in Britain might explain some of the rest - disillusionment, disappointment, feeling betrayed...
@epiwoosh I don't disagree in general, but "Back on the Chain Gang" IMO is about Chrissy missing the late Jimmy Scott and Pete Farndon, who made up half the original Pretenders lineup and both died far too young. In other words, it's not a mythical time, but a real time when they were making excellent music together, and knew it. Also, reaction to the Thatcher government in Britain might explain some of the rest - disillusionment, disappointment, feeling betrayed...
It's not letting me fix it, but the last line of the third verse is actually: "Now everything is plundered" Not thunder.
And I have the feeling this isn't about lost youth or a relationship, but about some idealistic people whose progress was crushed by the powers that be, and one of whom took the blame and was punished despite having committed no crime (I died a thousand times/ found guilty of no crime/ now everything is plundered.)
I've recently noticed that a lot of cryptic songs from that time period seem to refer to some mysterious lost time of idealism and social progress that was clamped down by the powers that be (maybe in a collective past life?). Songs like this one, the Icicle Works' Whisper to a Scream, the Pretenders' Back on the Chain Gang, the Alarm's Blaze of Glory, the Waterboys' A Girl Called Johnny and Whole of the Moon, and I'm sure there are countless others I can't think of at the moment. But I've realized that all of these cryptic lyrics suddenly make some sense I see them in the context of this mythical time of crushed progress. I have the feeling that I'll finally know what this mythical time was all about when I die, and I can't wait to find out.
@epiwoosh Actually, it\'s really "everything is thunder". It is printed in the CD booklet. And right now I\'m listening to the "exclusive acoustic version" on their homepage where this is clearly audible. ;-)
@epiwoosh Actually, it\'s really "everything is thunder". It is printed in the CD booklet. And right now I\'m listening to the "exclusive acoustic version" on their homepage where this is clearly audible. ;-)
@epiwoosh I don't disagree in general, but "Back on the Chain Gang" IMO is about Chrissy missing the late Jimmy Scott and Pete Farndon, who made up half the original Pretenders lineup and both died far too young. In other words, it's not a mythical time, but a real time when they were making excellent music together, and knew it. Also, reaction to the Thatcher government in Britain might explain some of the rest - disillusionment, disappointment, feeling betrayed...
@epiwoosh I don't disagree in general, but "Back on the Chain Gang" IMO is about Chrissy missing the late Jimmy Scott and Pete Farndon, who made up half the original Pretenders lineup and both died far too young. In other words, it's not a mythical time, but a real time when they were making excellent music together, and knew it. Also, reaction to the Thatcher government in Britain might explain some of the rest - disillusionment, disappointment, feeling betrayed...