Lyrics
THE QUEUE AT THE CHEMISTS
The title introduces the setting, a chemist's queue, suggesting a mundane, everyday scenario.
How can I be expected
Expresses the speaker's disbelief or reluctance regarding the expectation to care deeply about certain issues.
To care
The speaker questions their ability or willingness to care about vague and distant problems.
About an abstract and nebulous problem like a dying planet
Highlights the contrast between global issues, like a dying planet, and personal inconveniences, like waiting in line.
When I'm forced to queue for over 20 minutes
Emphasizes the frustration of spending significant time in a queue for a basic need, cod-liver oil.
To replenish my cod-liver oil stocks at the chemists?
Continues the theme of personal inconvenience, specifically waiting in line at the chemist to replenish supplies.
Let's discuss the merits of our lunches in minute detail
Suggests a shift in conversation to trivial matters, like discussing the details of lunches.
Complain how a particular colleague failed to reply to a particular email
Points out the tendency to complain about minor issues, such as a colleague not responding to an email.
I will seethe at inconveniences as long as I'm able
Expresses the speaker's willingness to be upset by inconveniences as long as possible, ignoring larger global problems.
And try to forget all the famine until it touches my table
Acknowledges a deliberate attempt to ignore major issues like famine until they directly impact the speaker.
Content to reduce perception to a singular pixel
Reflects contentment with simplifying the world into a narrow perspective, reducing complex issues to a singular pixel of understanding.
Content to let all sights inducing feelings of guilt become blinkered
Indicates a deliberate choice to ignore things that induce guilt, preferring a narrowed focus on personal comfort.
Nurse and nurture your grudges
Suggests the encouragement to hold on to and nurture grudges rather than addressing more significant problems.
Spend time trying to right minor wrongs
Encourages spending time on correcting minor personal wrongs rather than addressing broader societal issues.
Muddle along as bombs melt in the sun
Describes a sense of apathy or detachment, continuing with daily life despite major global problems, even mentioning war.
Did you believe the bell-bottomed free-loving tree-huggers? No, I didn't either
Expresses skepticism towards idealistic movements of the past, like the bell-bottomed free-loving tree-huggers of the 60s and 70s.
It kind of felt like we should maybe do something but in the end doing nothing seemed a lot easier
Describes a sense of inertia or inaction in the face of the perceived need to do something about global issues.
As we fell to our knees and pleaded a woman in a white coat screamed at us
Depicts a dramatic moment where a woman in a white coat scolds the speaker, emphasizing the urgency of addressing a viral threat.
You fools! A virus cannot reason with a fever!
Conveys the idea that certain problems, like a virus, cannot be reasoned with and require immediate attention.
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