Howard Devoto wrote the lyrics after a political argument with his girlfriend in which he discussed his viewpoints about different issues and she replied "you'll be shot by both sides," meaning your view don't precisely align with either of the two dominant political ideologies (left or right). For example, you might be a liberal who thinks that a harder approach should be taken to dealing with gangs, which would be viewed as right-wing by the left. Or, you could read in a science magazine that nuclear energy is the safest and most environmental way to produce energy, but your leftist or liberal friends will view that as a violation of their party line. The song is telling us to be careful of ideological umbrellas who come up with their own "secret understandings" of what is the correct view. You desperate "worm yourself into the crowd" (a political ideology) because you want to belong, but you didn't "lose yourself in the crowd," meaning you maintained your own dignity and search for truth. In each ideology certain perspectives "are allowed" (and others by implication are not, if you take those perspectives you'll be rejected by the fold). "New offenses always in my nerves" means the political perspectives people hold can be so upsetting that one cannot find any peace (for example, recent views that allege to protect life are actually making life even harder if not impossible for women). "They're taking my time by force" - they are taking up my time trying to indoctrinate me in their official party line in a forceful manner, by "shooting me" for my own views. "This and that, they must be the same" - there must be some truth to different perspectives. "What is legal is just what's real" - I don't people telling me what is the right way to think - for me, a legal or correct way to think is what the truth of reality is. puppeteer www.puppeteer.bandcamp.com
Howard Devoto wrote the lyrics after a political argument with his girlfriend in which he discussed his viewpoints about different issues and she replied "you'll be shot by both sides," meaning your view don't precisely align with either of the two dominant political ideologies (left or right). For example, you might be a liberal who thinks that a harder approach should be taken to dealing with gangs, which would be viewed as right-wing by the left. Or, you could read in a science magazine that nuclear energy is the safest and most environmental way to produce energy, but your leftist or liberal friends will view that as a violation of their party line. The song is telling us to be careful of ideological umbrellas who come up with their own "secret understandings" of what is the correct view. You desperate "worm yourself into the crowd" (a political ideology) because you want to belong, but you didn't "lose yourself in the crowd," meaning you maintained your own dignity and search for truth. In each ideology certain perspectives "are allowed" (and others by implication are not, if you take those perspectives you'll be rejected by the fold). "New offenses always in my nerves" means the political perspectives people hold can be so upsetting that one cannot find any peace (for example, recent views that allege to protect life are actually making life even harder if not impossible for women). "They're taking my time by force" - they are taking up my time trying to indoctrinate me in their official party line in a forceful manner, by "shooting me" for my own views. "This and that, they must be the same" - there must be some truth to different perspectives. "What is legal is just what's real" - I don't people telling me what is the right way to think - for me, a legal or correct way to think is what the truth of reality is. puppeteer www.puppeteer.bandcamp.com