The song, to me, is all about the absurdity of modern life. Each seemingly disconnected thought (muscle magazine by the toilet, kid being operated on downstairs) are a snippet of how weird, lonely, and sterile the world has become. A mustang is clearly a metaphor for a wild and free spirit. Frontman Caleb Followill skeptical though. Is this thing calling to him really a wild and free spirit, or is it another fragile piece of modern society; is it a Mustang or a kitty? The line that made this all clear for me was the third verse: I saw 'em operating on a kid downstairs I could not be bothered to pretend to care I like to watch you eat in front of the camera And there's a misty mornin' in your eye. He's speaking to how anesthetic he feels toward the ills of the world, but then somehow finds beauty in the eyes of someone he's watch eat through a camera (eg. Instagram pics of food). It's beautifully absurd, to describe an absolutely absurd world.
The song, to me, is all about the absurdity of modern life. Each seemingly disconnected thought (muscle magazine by the toilet, kid being operated on downstairs) are a snippet of how weird, lonely, and sterile the world has become. A mustang is clearly a metaphor for a wild and free spirit. Frontman Caleb Followill skeptical though. Is this thing calling to him really a wild and free spirit, or is it another fragile piece of modern society; is it a Mustang or a kitty? The line that made this all clear for me was the third verse: I saw 'em operating on a kid downstairs I could not be bothered to pretend to care I like to watch you eat in front of the camera And there's a misty mornin' in your eye. He's speaking to how anesthetic he feels toward the ills of the world, but then somehow finds beauty in the eyes of someone he's watch eat through a camera (eg. Instagram pics of food). It's beautifully absurd, to describe an absolutely absurd world.