Vanity
Unveiling Human Vanity: Bad Religion's Prophetic Reflections
Lyrics
I'll strike it if I don't like it
I will reject or dismiss something if I find it undesirable.
Gimme a club and I will have myself a riot
If given a club, I will participate in a riot or violent disturbance.
I'm a monkey with a brick on my shoulder
Describes the speaker as a disruptive force with a metaphorical "brick" on their shoulder.
And I'm getting bolder
The speaker is becoming more daring or courageous.
Let's deny and defame
Suggests a desire to deny and defame, possibly in a destructive manner.
Let's destroy and recreate in our glorious name
Advocates for destruction and recreation in the name of the speaker's perceived glory.
And when the joke of our centrality is upon us
When the realization of their lack of centrality becomes apparent, there is a call to grovel and decry.
Grovel and decry
A reaction of humility or remorse when faced with the joke of one's own importance.
Our vanity
Refers to the overarching theme of the song: vanity, excessive pride in oneself.
Disgraced to face our own humanity
Expresses shame or humiliation when confronted with the true nature of humanity.
In a world that mocks our tragedy
Highlights the irony of living in a world that ridicules the speaker's own tragic flaws.
Hyper-aware and impaired
Describes heightened self-awareness and a sense of impairment or limitation.
Terrified by natures mocking stare
Suggests fear in response to the mocking gaze of nature.
Yearning for significance beyond our animal ken
Expresses a yearning for significance beyond the limits of human understanding.
On which we do depend
Emphasizes dependence on elements beyond human control.
Such vanity
Reiterates the theme of excessive pride and self-importance.
Isolated with our own inanity
Describes being isolated due to one's own foolishness or self-centeredness.
Entangled by our callow gravity
Suggests entanglement in the speaker's own immature gravitational pull or influence.
Disgraced to face our own humanity
Repeats the idea of feeling disgraced when confronted with the reality of human existence.
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