Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Let's continue the lit-review.
I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
On holiday
The word used to describe the action, "beg", seems to be a weird term to use in such a case - although it holds a certain sense of independence and rebellion, it also conveys a sense of having the "beg" - showing that ultimately, they are still at the power of the "liars". "Hollow lies" in this case refers to the so called "quick success" in the Middle East - the Cabinet has thus far underestimated the amount of total deaths in war zones, and the word "hollow" is the opposite of "solid", which the Bush administration used to describe their crusade - a solid wall of charging soldiers. Thus, we can see the irony.
"Dawning" of the rest of their lives is very straightforward - it refers to the light shining on the truth at last. The next line - "on holiday" is an irony from the general theme of the song - war, pain and suffering.
Hear the drum pounding out of time
Another protester has crossed the line (Hey!)
To find, the money's on the other side
This senza is meant to convey a sense of solidarity and order about the way the war was carried out - a drum is used in bands and playing instruments much as a way a metronome is - playing out a beat to guide the speed of the other band players. This orderliness is unlike of war - a good war is to be fought flexibly, not done out beat by beat and travel in pre-specified paths. "Money" in this case is supposed to be a euphemism of "privileges" - taken at face value, it can be seen as a straightforward statement; however, when you "cross a line" and find something on "the other side", it may appear to be a weird contradiction - there are only two sides of a line. Therefore, we can infer that the writers meant to imply that the people of America should watch out and remember the things that are at state before openly arguing with the ruling Cabinet of the country.
Can I get another Amen? (Amen!)
There's a flag wrapped around a score of men (Hey!)
A gag, a plastic bag on a monument
"Amen" is a common ending of a prayer (correct me if I'm wrong) when the person asks for one to bless him, it often implies that they have tried many times to pray to the Gods, but they are not replying - this is also an implication of the feeling of being deserted by all, the desperation that they view in lieu of the thousands of soldiers dying. "Flag wrapped around a score of men" further adds on to the idea of the suffocation of the people by the state flag, often used in politics to represent the leaders of the nation. In ancient Rome, defiling of monuments was punishable by beheading, which was adopted by many countries later on. Also, a monument is a historical monument - by gagging it and binding it in plastic bag, it is trying to imply a silencing and prevention of movement of history and protests; it is also trying to imply a ignorance and rejection of the history of America - namely, its recourse of using non-violence to solve matters.
*skipping forwards...*
"The representative from California has the floor"
Sieg Heil to the president Gasman
Bombs away is your punishment
Pulverize the Eiffel towers
Who criticize your government
Bang bang goes the broken glass and
Kill all the fags that don't agree
Trials by fire, setting fire
Is not a way that's meant for me
Just cause, just cause, because we're outlaws yeah!
One big quote. "The representative from California has the floor"; at time of writing, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a person campaigning for election; this may not seem much, but it is revealed that he used to have a high degree of respect of Adolf Hitler, which may have been a precursor to the next line. "Gasman" refers to Hitler, which gassed millions of Jews in the Holocaust, one of the worst war crimes in history. The following line described how Hitler was defeated towards the end of World War II - the bombing of Berlin, followed by Operation Overlord.
The next two lines make an allusion to the condemnation of the 2003 Iraq invasion by the French. This line is a juxtapose to their comments on this song, which says they are "anti-war". Again, this impression is furthered by the next two lines, which uses strong words and vivid (almost) description of war-happenings to give a sense of revenge. However, the last line seems to show that the previous four lines was an irony. By calling themselves outlaws, they are trying to say that their opinions are different from the normal opinions; this is assuming that the previous four lines reflect the opinions of the government as well as the nationalist people.
*fin?*
Gah that was hard. Quality dropped slightly.
Posted by Denunciator at 8:59 PM