But this was just the kind of internal conflict that tore at our souls at that time. The “I don’t know what to do” part was exactly where I was then and I took comfort in knowing someone else felt that way, but it also haunted me, because I knew if you allowed others to solve the problems, you were signing over your right to have any say-so in the future - and this went against my nature - it just seemed to be a “cop-out”. The lyrics are almost a stream of consciousness thing - the thoughts constantly running through our heads, the absolute either /or choices bombarding us and demanding resolution, juxtaposed with simple recognition of, and the pleasure of, taking the world as it is and not trying to impose our concept on it. So for me, this song put its arms around me and reassured me I was not by myself in this mess. But when you are 16, you are forming your entire life’s identity and not having very well defined ideas about things when confronted with someone who did was a nightmare, at least for me. And to make matters worse, it was absolutely unacceptable for most folks to not take one side or the other on each and every thing. For folks my age or a bit older, it was a confusing time, especially in terms of societal absolutes - every possible issue or way of seeing the world seemed to be split right down the middle, everything seemed to be defined as an absolute either/or: each one a perfect example of the duality of nature. General CommentI find it somewhat strange and a bit humorous that this song, which if not absolutely straightforward, is nevertheless certainly not that ambiguous. What I later realized is that it is about setting aside the media and labeling, and it is about living your life. i originally thought that this meant to be a revolutionary. It reminds me aof a line from a Hendrix song "I'm the one that's going to die when it is time for me to die so let me live my life the way I want to". Politicians would be against it since they would not be able to leverage their positions (left, right or indifferent) and media outlets would fear that their viewership would drop if the three or four faces on their split screens all agreed with each other. See things clearly about saving the whole world and not looking for the conflicts between the labels the media, politicians and others create. So maybe the song is about shutting off the noise from the media and start to change the world in your own way from what you can do for the greater good. The songwriter wants to change the world but doesn't know what to do. All of those media assets and the money they generate provide nothing to help chnage the world nor provide us with some insight on what we can do to change the world. no solution" that is played constantly in our media. The song highlights labeling "hairies/fairies, rich/poor, black/white", conflicts "tax the rich til their rich no more", and desperation "pollution. Just watch any of the cable news channels and after a half hour see if you can list anything that they said that helps anyone seek a solution. In the 2000's the media has brought this to an all new art form. It is about labeling and sayings that we hear everyday on the airwaves that are meaningless and don't provide direction of any kind for changing the world. General CommentIt may appear that it is against or for something but that's not at all what the songwriter means.
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