What does this song mean?

Here is the song:



And lyrics:

"There is a man with no face
And a name I don't remember
Who lives in a house in the middle of the woods
And he said once "Son, don't you ever laugh out loud for they are listening,
Yes they are listening
Oh you've got to be strong
Oh, you've got to keep holding on
It's now just a matter of time"
(Head for the hills, go!)

They provide the paint for the picture perfect masterpiece
that you will paint on the insides of your eyelids;
Can you possibly see anything you want to see?
No (Hell No!)
"There's nothing wrong with the way I see"
and he wanted to be a soldier in the next great war
he wanted to kill and fight and maim but not be told what he was fighting for
And that's the way it's going to have to be my friend,
And that's the way it's going to have to be my friend

I passed a man on the corner in the city yesterday singing
"Yada yada yada and tomorrow it'll never end"
and I never thought I'd never live to see another sunny day
but I'm here and I fear I'll be here till the end
So watch your mouth
Or you're going to make a grave mistake
Hold your tongue
Or you're going to catch a bullet in the head
So watch your mouth
Or you're going to make a grave mistake
Don't die for anything less than the best of life

The things you said went to your head
But you never tried to understand:
What they'll take you will never take back what they take when take what they can
because they can from you
You follow me and you follow me but you never ask why
And I wonder what you're under could this be another piece of the
"I don't know I just do what they say because they say what to do in a matter of fact way"
But don't stop because you might get burned
And you might just learn to stand on your own two feet
And I think that it's neat how you learn to repeat everything
that you hear in the street so well
You learn to repeat everything that you hear so well
You learn to repeat everything that you hear so well

And everyone was resting because they thought it was the end
And even if it wasn't they decide they'd pretend
And somewhere in the distance I could hear him whispering
"You can fight all you want you'll never win in the end"

Sometimes in the evening when I'm lying in my bed
I am taken to the forest to the isolated shed
And I wake with his words resonating in my head
And I can't stop thinking about the gist of what he said

He said:
So watch your mouth
Or you're going to make a grave mistake
Hold your tongue
Or you're going to catch a bullet in the head
So watch your mouth
Or you're going to make a grave mistake
Don't die for anything less than the best of,
Everyone settles for the rest not the best of,
I will die for no less than the best of life"

I have an idea for what the meaning of the lyrics are, I was hoping to have a second opinion. These things are subjective, you know

Well thanks for the cool song. I think its about withholding certain knowledge in order to live a normal life and the emotional experience that creates. And that any one person can only hold a small piece of the puzzle so doubt will start to creep in until a large enough mass of the population gives it credit then individuals can create change. "I will die for no less than the best of life" is probably the key line. It is wise words given to an alternative thinker, I suppose.

Just my opinion.

a reply to: rockintitz

"They" provide a lot of ideas for our head that aren't true. We grow up being indoctrinated into their Masterpiece, some even fighting in wars…

They provide the paint for the picture perfect masterpiece
that you will paint on the insides of your eyelids;
Can you possibly see anything you want to see?
No (Hell No!)
"There's nothing wrong with the way I see"
and he wanted to be a soldier in the next great war
he wanted to kill and fight and maim but not be told what he was fighting for

Different era, same war…Well, come on all of you, big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Vietnam
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Come on Wall Street, don't be slow,
Why man, this is war au-go-go
There's plenty good money to be made
By supplying the Army with the tools of its trade,
But just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
They drop it on the Viet Cong.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Well, come on generals, let's move fast;
Your big chance has come at last.
Now you can go out and get those reds
'Cause the only good commie is the one that's dead
And you know that peace can only be won
When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
Come on fathers, and don't hesitate
To send your sons off before it's too late.
And you can be the first ones in your block
To have your boy come home in a box.

And it's one, two, three
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

a reply to: rockintitz

To me it means that you are a slave to the unwritten and unspoken norms of whatever culture you live in.

That there is no such thing as total freedom regardless of where you live.

That if you rock the boat, the ones who are with you that blindly do what they're told by their PTB will push you off that boat.

That if you don't conform, you'll be relegated to a shed in the middle of the woods.

It's been this way ever since we've been here and it won't ever change.

If its any consolation though, remember that those who are in charge.........even they are a slave to this.

Some of them may not want to be the cold, heartless bastard that it takes to rule over others, but they have no other choice.

They're just like us........they do what is expected of them.

a reply to: rockintitz

Ha...I had "99 Songs Vol. 1" playing in my truck on the way to work today and was thinking about posting this song saying that it represents ATS very well.

Seriously...what are the odds that you posted it, too?

Streetlight is my fav band, BTW.



I think that this song is a good representation of the idea that we're all being lied to, but in such an effective way--and don't snap out of living in the lie, or you probably won't like what you see. And then "they" may come after you.

Basically, it's "The Matrix" in song form

Here's the original, from an all-acoustic band that Tomas Kalnoky (and some Streetlight members) had formed for a short while. It's worth noting that the band's name is "Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution" and that the album is titled "A Call to Arms":

originally posted by: SlapMonkey
a reply to: rockintitz

Ha...I had "99 Songs Vol. 1" playing in my truck on the way to work today and was thinking about posting this song saying that it represents ATS very well.

Seriously...what are the odds that you posted it, too?

Streetlight is my fav band, BTW.

I think that this song is a good representation of the idea that we're all being lied to, but in such an effective way--and don't snap out of living in the lie, or you probably won't like what you see. And then "they" may come after you.

Basically, it's "The Matrix" in song form

Here's the original, from an all-acoustic band that Tomas Kalnoky (and some Streetlight members) had formed for a short while. It's worth noting that the band's name is "Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution" and that the album is titled "A Call to Arms":

My favorite band as well

You pretty much summed up what I was thinking.

That you can paint such a pretty picture of the world in your own head, and you will be blind to anything that goes against it.

ATS is a collection of people (mostly) that have found a way to remove the paint.

Nice to meet you fellow traveler.

a reply to: intrptr

Different era, same war...

Yup. I wonder what songs my kids will be singing..

Thanks for the song