There is a lot of interpretations discussing the holocaust, however the word 'Gulag' is particularly and precisely chosen, therefore we can presume this is not about the holocaust directly. The use of the term Gulag would be confusing and out of place if it was. I think the word Gulag is a very bold and deliberate use of metaphor to shock a response from the listener and highlight the severity of the narrators message. This is further emphasised by the lyrics 'They're mopping up the butchers floor' which is a harrowing piece of imagery when you stop and think about...

There is a lot of interpretations discussing the holocaust, however the word 'Gulag' is particularly and precisely chosen, therefore we can presume this is not about the holocaust directly. The use of the term Gulag would be confusing and out of place if it was. I think the word Gulag is a very bold and deliberate use of metaphor to shock a response from the listener and highlight the severity of the narrators message. This is further emphasised by the lyrics 'They're mopping up the butchers floor' which is a harrowing piece of imagery when you stop and think about it.

To me, the message of the lyric symbolises a fundamental and fatal flaw in human nature - one that is especially apparent on a societal scale. The lines "The cleaners are coming – one by one," "Forgive us now for what we've done," evoke a sense of collective guilt and point to a history of moral failure. As others have observed, the song critiques issues related to consumerism and corruption, creating a cycle where no lessons are ever fully learned, and these same flaws are passed down to future generations, in an endless and almost systematic loop.

As a side note, I never really believed that the narrator is the one who should be apologising the most for this situation, and I have always found this incredibly ironic. Isn't this is often the case in corrupt or broken societies, where people are made to apologise on behalf of those in power - who may or may not feel any genuine remorse? This irony does however raise an important moral question: who, really is most responsible for humanity's shortcomings?

There is a lot of interpretations discussing the holocaust, however the word 'Gulag' is particularly and precisely chosen, therefore we can presume this is not about the holocaust directly. The use of the term Gulag would be confusing and out of place if it was. I think the word Gulag is a very bold and deliberate use of metaphor to shock a response from the listener and highlight the severity of the narrators message. This is further emphasised by the lyrics 'They're mopping up the butchers floor' which is a harrowing piece of imagery when you stop and think about...

There is a lot of interpretations discussing the holocaust, however the word 'Gulag' is particularly and precisely chosen, therefore we can presume this is not about the holocaust directly. The use of the term Gulag would be confusing and out of place if it was. I think the word Gulag is a very bold and deliberate use of metaphor to shock a response from the listener and highlight the severity of the narrators message. This is further emphasised by the lyrics 'They're mopping up the butchers floor' which is a harrowing piece of imagery when you stop and think about it.

To me, the message of the lyric symbolises a fundamental and fatal flaw in human nature - one that is especially apparent on a societal scale. The lines "The cleaners are coming – one by one," "Forgive us now for what we've done," evoke a sense of collective guilt and point to a history of moral failure. As others have observed, the song critiques issues related to consumerism and corruption, creating a cycle where no lessons are ever fully learned, and these same flaws are passed down to future generations, in an endless and almost systematic loop.

As a side note, I never really believed that the narrator is the one who should be apologising the most for this situation, and I have always found this incredibly ironic. Isn't this is often the case in corrupt or broken societies, where people are made to apologise on behalf of those in power - who may or may not feel any genuine remorse? This irony does however raise an important moral question: who, really is most responsible for humanity's shortcomings?

There is a lot of interpretations discussing the holocaust, however the word 'Gulag' is particularly and precisely chosen, therefore we can presume this is not about the holocaust directly. The use of the term Gulag would be confusing and out of place if it was. I think the word Gulag is a very bold and deliberate use of metaphor to shock a response from the listener and highlight the severity of the narrators message. This is further emphasised by the lyrics 'They're mopping up the butchers floor' which is a harrowing piece of imagery when you stop and think about...

There is a lot of interpretations discussing the holocaust, however the word 'Gulag' is particularly and precisely chosen, therefore we can presume this is not about the holocaust directly. The use of the term Gulag would be confusing and out of place if it was. I think the word Gulag is a very bold and deliberate use of metaphor to shock a response from the listener and highlight the severity of the narrators message. This is further emphasised by the lyrics 'They're mopping up the butchers floor' which is a harrowing piece of imagery when you stop and think about it.

To me, the message of the lyric symbolises a fundamental and fatal flaw in human nature - one that is especially apparent on a societal scale. The lines "The cleaners are coming – one by one," "Forgive us now for what we've done," evoke a sense of collective guilt and point to a history of moral failure. As others have observed, the song critiques issues related to consumerism and corruption, creating a cycle where no lessons are ever fully learned, and these same flaws are passed down to future generations, in an endless and almost systematic loop.

As a side note, I never really believed that the narrator is the one who should be apologising the most for this situation, and I have always found this incredibly ironic. Isn't this is often the case in corrupt or broken societies, where people are made to apologise on behalf of those in power - who may or may not feel any genuine remorse? This irony does however raise an important moral question: who, really is most responsible for humanity's shortcomings?

This song was originally written for the musical film "Meet Me in St. Louis," released in 1944--right in the middle of World War 2. Everyone in the audience during its first run would have either been in the military, or had friends and family in the military, and would have at least known people who were overseas, and who had lost someone in the war. The lines "Someday soon we all will be together/If the fates allow/Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow" would have hit them emotionally in a way that we can't really appreciate 80...

This song was originally written for the musical film "Meet Me in St. Louis," released in 1944--right in the middle of World War 2. Everyone in the audience during its first run would have either been in the military, or had friends and family in the military, and would have at least known people who were overseas, and who had lost someone in the war. The lines "Someday soon we all will be together/If the fates allow/Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow" would have hit them emotionally in a way that we can't really appreciate 80 years later.

Option A is a dead giveaway. Option B is my own relative thoughts. A: It's likely about the struggles of making a song. "Seventeen tracks and I've had it with this game," with the game being the process of writing and recording the song. "Heaven ain't close in a place like this" might symbolize how recording is like Hell. "Don't blink or you might miss" could mean how you might screw up a song track, regardless of the amount of time recorded.

Option A is a dead giveaway. Option B is my own relative thoughts. A: It's likely about the struggles of making a song. "Seventeen tracks and I've had it with this game," with the game being the process of writing and recording the song. "Heaven ain't close in a place like this" might symbolize how recording is like Hell. "Don't blink or you might miss" could mean how you might screw up a song track, regardless of the amount of time recorded.

B: I thought it was about high school drama. The girl cheats on...

B: I thought it was about high school drama. The girl cheats on a man with another man "somebody told me you had a boyfriend that looked like a girlfriend that I had in February of last year".

Idk lol