Flat Of The Blade

this song screams iraq war vet to me, but then again, everything does lately.

I'm not good in a crowd, I got skills I can't speak of

after being in iraq, i can tell you i am definitely not good in crowds- out of habit. taken with the next line, im feeling that the skills you learn in war (killing) are not those typically talked about in normal conversation- hence, skills i cant speak of.

Things I've seen will chase me To the grave

definitely true, especially in the urban combat environment of the early invasion and dealing with the after effects of insurgent domestic terror. i will never forget the smell of burning bodies....

I'm not good in a crowd, I got skills I can't speak of Over there

over there...

Led with your hands tied Fed to the sand flies

captured perhaps or maybe metaphorically tied by geneva convention/rules of war set by your command. the flies are definitely pervasive and with no real "indoor" work environment, you are constantly dealing with them.

You stumble the dunes Complain to the moon

walking in sand is definitely a burden most ppl dont think of, when tired you do stumble constantly. hoping for a compassionate ear in the military is folly...sometimes you just have to complain out loud. i know i have had a few therapeutic conversations with myself while on watch at night, staring at the moon.

Backs to the wheel There's granite to shove

no where to go, and work to do.

Take it They give it So rivet for rivet I will build for my family a bulletproof room (roof?)

each atrocity they make you experience is just that much more reinforcement to protect yourself from it. i think about it like pink floyd used bricks in the wall to symbolize pink's slow building of a wall around him, isolating him from everyone else; where each case of disappointment was a "brick". here, each case is a "rivet" of a more durable structure. or this could mean that after seeing the devastation bombs cause to ordinary civilian dwellings, he will build a "bulletproof" roof for his family?

How does it feel The weight of the steel?

knowing that this devastation is caused by you (through your participation)...after all, you are carrying the tool of destruction in your very own hands

The weight of the steel The flat of the blade

flat of the blade symbolizes mercy to me as is the non lethal end of a killing tool. perhaps the weighing of options? to kill or not?

How does it feel To kneel at the feet? To kneel at the feets Of the choices you've made

by invading, we brought all of this on ourselves by going in the first place. each and every mentally damaged soldier is a direct result of placing them there in the first place. this could be personal or categorical- the individual soldier may feel like they are experiencing these things as a consequence of joining; or it could be a question to the nation as a whole after seeing the costs involved (which are purposely glossed over in my opinion).

either way, this song is hauntingly beautiful with each part coming together masterfully in a crescendo of emotion. proof, yet again, of massive attack's musical genius and mastery.