I tend to make September 11th more central to the song than others do. The first verse has obvious biblical interpretations, and more universal refugee interpretations, but I see the immediate inspiration being an attempt at empathy or understanding for people in the middle east who
"Hear destructive power prevailing, I hear fools falsely hailing. To the crooked wits of tyrants when they call."
hey are fools being summoned by anger or desperation to do evil against what they see as the destructive powers working against them, but they are really working for tyrants who try to speak for God.
In the second verse:
"I hear the sounds of tearing pages and the roar of burning paper.
All the crimes in acquisitions turn to air and ash and vapor."
is an image of the towers themselves, paper flying everywhere was part of the imagery of 9/11. "Crimes in Acquisitions" being a reference to World Trade. Not as a justification for the act, but as another reference to the powerful, and a recognition.
The third verse is obvious, and the forth calls for our religions to tie us together in peace when they are no longer abused by the powerful.
I tend to make September 11th more central to the song than others do. The first verse has obvious biblical interpretations, and more universal refugee interpretations, but I see the immediate inspiration being an attempt at empathy or understanding for people in the middle east who
"Hear destructive power prevailing, I hear fools falsely hailing. To the crooked wits of tyrants when they call."
hey are fools being summoned by anger or desperation to do evil against what they see as the destructive powers working against them, but they are really working for tyrants who try to speak for God.
In the second verse:
"I hear the sounds of tearing pages and the roar of burning paper. All the crimes in acquisitions turn to air and ash and vapor."
is an image of the towers themselves, paper flying everywhere was part of the imagery of 9/11. "Crimes in Acquisitions" being a reference to World Trade. Not as a justification for the act, but as another reference to the powerful, and a recognition.
The third verse is obvious, and the forth calls for our religions to tie us together in peace when they are no longer abused by the powerful.