This song follows the course of many others on the album which are very critical of American history and its economic system of capitalism. The "mutinous enemy" is a reference to the colonists in rebellion against Britain. The reference to the "blackcoats" means puritans and religious revivalists who are a perennial feature of American pop culture.
I'm not sure what conflicts he is referring to if not America's many wars. Perhaps he is calling attention to our ongoing political battles, and "weighted as a murder trial" is a reference to our topsy-turvy election cycle.
A strange denial of our history is taking place as we ignore the errors of our past. Ignoring the impact of slavery, we perpetuate racial injustice. Ignoring the impact of religious puritanism, we perpetuate religious bigotry, hatred of LGBT and scientific illiteracy. Ignoring the causes that led to the creation of our capitalist economy (wealth collection through wage and chattel slavery in its founding days) will perpetuate the class conflicts that make our political system dysfunctional and render our "enlightened" Constitution brain-dead.
The lonely insistent whispers are those of the homeless, addicts, punks and other "outcasts" of society.
This song follows the course of many others on the album which are very critical of American history and its economic system of capitalism. The "mutinous enemy" is a reference to the colonists in rebellion against Britain. The reference to the "blackcoats" means puritans and religious revivalists who are a perennial feature of American pop culture.
I'm not sure what conflicts he is referring to if not America's many wars. Perhaps he is calling attention to our ongoing political battles, and "weighted as a murder trial" is a reference to our topsy-turvy election cycle.
A strange denial of our history is taking place as we ignore the errors of our past. Ignoring the impact of slavery, we perpetuate racial injustice. Ignoring the impact of religious puritanism, we perpetuate religious bigotry, hatred of LGBT and scientific illiteracy. Ignoring the causes that led to the creation of our capitalist economy (wealth collection through wage and chattel slavery in its founding days) will perpetuate the class conflicts that make our political system dysfunctional and render our "enlightened" Constitution brain-dead.
The lonely insistent whispers are those of the homeless, addicts, punks and other "outcasts" of society.