This is the first of two consecutive songs on the Modern World album inspired by the novel/film One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. The combine (as in combine harvester) is a metaphor for the oppressive, identity-crushing power of the conformist conservative majority of the population.
The final lines clearly locate the narrative, not in the middle America of Ken Kesey's hospital-based story, but in 1970s Britain. The abrupt end indicates that this song was definitely conceived as part of a suite.
This is the first of two consecutive songs on the Modern World album inspired by the novel/film One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. The combine (as in combine harvester) is a metaphor for the oppressive, identity-crushing power of the conformist conservative majority of the population. The final lines clearly locate the narrative, not in the middle America of Ken Kesey's hospital-based story, but in 1970s Britain. The abrupt end indicates that this song was definitely conceived as part of a suite.