anglophilia January 29th, 2006 02:36PM  
The phrase ‘bankrupt on selling’ refers to dissatisfaction with capitalism. The apostles and angels are willing to prostitute their most valuable possession, their faith, for the bright lights and flashy colors of a modern market system. This is a testament to just how ingrained in our brains materialism has become. The lines “so all of the businesses in their unlimited hell where they buy and they sell, and they sell all their trash to each other, but they're sick of it all and they're bankrupt on selling” suggest that virtually everyone is dissatisfied with capitalism. No one has any pride in their products or skills; they just make garbage to get another paycheck so they can keep on making garbage. At first the protagonist is determined to dismantle the system: “Well, I’ll go to college and I’ll learn some big words, and I’ll talk real loud goddamn right I’ll be heard.” He goes out in the world to look for a better way, sure that he’ll return and spark revolution. But in the final verse of the song we see the truth. “And it took a long time I came clean with myself. I come clean out of love with my lover, I still love her, loved her more when she used to be sober and I was kinder” Even during his frantic struggle ground has been lost. Eventually it occurs to everyone that they are being forced down a conveyor belt that cannot be stopped. The protagonist’s lover once shared his rebellious spirit, but a bleak reality has shattered it. The two can no longer find fulfillment in each other and one looks to alcohol to numb the pain of a hopeless existence. Overall I find this to be the most depressing song Modest Mouse has produced.