Citizen and State
Reflections on Society: Citizen, State, and Moral Dilemmas
Lyrics
Well you're not stupid enough to get bogged down in questions of right or wrong
Reflecting on the complexity of morality and ethics, suggesting an avoidance of moral dilemmas.
I guess it's hard to hear the screams when your pay-check asks for deafness?
Highlighting the desensitization to suffering when personal gain, represented by a paycheck, is prioritized.
And you've no time for contradiction, no, you were just obeying orders!
Emphasizing a lack of tolerance for contradiction, justifying actions as following orders without questioning.
And you feel sorry for all those left behind, but man, we've got to cut some corners.
Expressing remorse for those left behind while justifying the necessity of making compromises.
Well love's not something you put in a box
Rejecting the notion of confining love to limitations or societal norms.
The nation state, a job or the ticking of those clocks
Listing elements like the nation state, job, and time as factors not containing or defining love.
Compassion's not your annual purchase of The Big Issue
Challenging the idea that compassion can be fulfilled through occasional acts, such as buying The Big Issue.
If you're citizen, you're state, so the problem stays with you.
Asserting that if you are a citizen, the responsibility for societal issues remains with you as part of the state.
Your family's story is built upon lie
Questioning the authenticity of family narratives, suggesting deception in the foundation of one's family story.
And the more the money comes in the more it's magnified
Highlighting the amplification of falsehoods with increased wealth, possibly indicating a distorted reality.
And your children begin to ask you about the beating of that drum
Referencing the curiosity of children about societal issues, particularly the metaphorical "beating of that drum."
So you tell them the story you learnt at their age, the story you've become.
Indicating the passing on of a distorted narrative from one generation to the next.
The nation state, a job, the ticking of those clocks
Reiterating the elements mentioned in line 7, emphasizing their significance in the broader narrative.
Don't want to tell it, don't want to tell it, don't want to sell it, no
Expressing reluctance or hesitation in sharing a narrative or selling a perspective, despite the inevitability.
But here we go all the same:
Acknowledging the inevitability of sharing a narrative despite the reluctance expressed in line 17.
So kids, love is something you put in a box
Contrasting the earlier rejection of confining love with an ironic statement about putting love in a box.
Your nation state, your job and the ticking of those clocks
Repeating the elements mentioned in line 7 and suggesting that societal constructs define love.
Compassion is your annual purchase of The Big Issue
Challenging the notion that compassion can be fulfilled through routine actions, emphasizing societal roles.
You're citizen, they're state, it's got nothing to do with you.
Affirming the connection between being a citizen and the state, denying any detachment from societal issues.
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