I think this song is about the state of the United States at the time - with the Vietnam war going on it's not hard to believe that Richard at the time felt that what was going on was wrong.
The song itself talks about the parade as being how the US government hid over it's wrongdoings and masqueraded as something friendly. Certainly an odd piece for a Carpenters song and most likely the only song that was written with a presumed 'political' background behind it.
I think this song is about the state of the United States at the time - with the Vietnam war going on it's not hard to believe that Richard at the time felt that what was going on was wrong.
The song itself talks about the parade as being how the US government hid over it's wrongdoings and masqueraded as something friendly. Certainly an odd piece for a Carpenters song and most likely the only song that was written with a presumed 'political' background behind it.