This is only my opinion and should not be taken as the actual meaning of the song, you should interpret it on your own. That being said, I love King Crimson and have listened to this song many times and I consider myself a deep philosophical thinker and a poet. I also have lived in a large society for a large part of my life but have also experienced living in small villages. But here are some thoughts I having right now.
The first part is just describing what a city is, you have a concrete jungle, and the buildings are like giant faces cased in steel. You have cars driving around at night with loud flashing lights and slamming on brakes. You have lights everywhere telling you what to do. Red, stop, green go. All very man made and unnatural. This song pairs with "Cat food", I think they both are commenting on modern society, but this album was made in the 70s and I think it still describes our world today. Which is proof of the truth in the lyrics.
I would say the second verse is about all the sinning in the city, chasing beautiful but unnatural women that shave every inch of their body and put chemicals on themselves to make themselves more attractive... there's lying. hiding smiles, sins that are sugar coated, (tinseled), drugs, parties, gambling, feeling all the dopamine, you can't help but smile. Now you are at a casino throwing away your money, addiction and disease plague the mind and it cuts to an instrumental where the city is sleeping, there are still sounds but it isn't as alarming. The silence doesn't last for long though and then the third verse hits with a thundering crash and a culmination of great progression of part of the song concludes.
Now the city dweller is deaf, dumb, blind, thirsty, hungry, incoherent, on the outside you wear this dreamlike flesh, but its concrete, its artifical just like the city, and like the city, on the underside, deep within, it is a nasty place. Your soul has lost its way, it is like being in hell.
This is only my opinion and should not be taken as the actual meaning of the song, you should interpret it on your own. That being said, I love King Crimson and have listened to this song many times and I consider myself a deep philosophical thinker and a poet. I also have lived in a large society for a large part of my life but have also experienced living in small villages. But here are some thoughts I having right now.
The first part is just describing what a city is, you have a concrete jungle, and the buildings are like giant faces cased in steel. You have cars driving around at night with loud flashing lights and slamming on brakes. You have lights everywhere telling you what to do. Red, stop, green go. All very man made and unnatural. This song pairs with "Cat food", I think they both are commenting on modern society, but this album was made in the 70s and I think it still describes our world today. Which is proof of the truth in the lyrics.
I would say the second verse is about all the sinning in the city, chasing beautiful but unnatural women that shave every inch of their body and put chemicals on themselves to make themselves more attractive... there's lying. hiding smiles, sins that are sugar coated, (tinseled), drugs, parties, gambling, feeling all the dopamine, you can't help but smile. Now you are at a casino throwing away your money, addiction and disease plague the mind and it cuts to an instrumental where the city is sleeping, there are still sounds but it isn't as alarming. The silence doesn't last for long though and then the third verse hits with a thundering crash and a culmination of great progression of part of the song concludes.
Now the city dweller is deaf, dumb, blind, thirsty, hungry, incoherent, on the outside you wear this dreamlike flesh, but its concrete, its artifical just like the city, and like the city, on the underside, deep within, it is a nasty place. Your soul has lost its way, it is like being in hell.