"Sirens on the rooftops wailing, but there's no ship sailing." Some small ports literally sound sirens from rooftops to alert tourists that the ocean liners are about to leave. (So it's not necessarily the sea legend sirens.) The reference to serial robber/ rapist/ kidnapper Caryl Chessman has possible double meanings as well. It says, "Caryl Chessman sniffs the air and leads the parade, he knows in a scent,You can bottle all you made." Chessman was executed in California by gas 11 years after being convicted by testimony from eyewitness victims, but he wrote four books and sold the movie rights, telling the public he was framed. (Many Hollywood "intellectuals" actually believed it.) So the line "he knows, in a scent" could actually be "he knows, innocent, you can bottle all you made." (He certainly sold the public a lot of bottles of his supposed innocence, which they drank like booze, despite multiple victims fingering him.) I'm not sure the band meant either of these double meanings, but I'd like to think they did, because this album is very rich in symbols and metaphors.
"Sirens on the rooftops wailing, but there's no ship sailing." Some small ports literally sound sirens from rooftops to alert tourists that the ocean liners are about to leave. (So it's not necessarily the sea legend sirens.) The reference to serial robber/ rapist/ kidnapper Caryl Chessman has possible double meanings as well. It says, "Caryl Chessman sniffs the air and leads the parade, he knows in a scent,You can bottle all you made." Chessman was executed in California by gas 11 years after being convicted by testimony from eyewitness victims, but he wrote four books and sold the movie rights, telling the public he was framed. (Many Hollywood "intellectuals" actually believed it.) So the line "he knows, in a scent" could actually be "he knows, innocent, you can bottle all you made." (He certainly sold the public a lot of bottles of his supposed innocence, which they drank like booze, despite multiple victims fingering him.) I'm not sure the band meant either of these double meanings, but I'd like to think they did, because this album is very rich in symbols and metaphors.