Serial Killer

Most of VNV Nation's lyrics could be interpreted as Miltonesque.

But this part made me come up with my own explanation:

And where are the angels to guard? Where is the god of men and children? He is stalking the minds of dark poor souls. I know it's right because I know it's time for freedom:

To kill another and to kill another And to kill another child of the flag Till there are none left... and another, And to kill another, and to kill another...

Freedom to kill? It just reminded me, how people of certain personality actually welcome war and enjoy it. If the name of the song is "Serial Killer", then, it does sound somewhat believable.

I believe that this song is about war and how wrong and meaningless it is. Whether people are for it or against it (under a flag we salute or burn) they all contribute to the consequences of war (there is blood on both shores). It expresses that fighting in the name of freedom is "so ironic, so despicable, so hypocritical." In every war there have been butchers, child killers, and perhaps even narcotic rituals. Our "fight for freedom" often times ends up causing the deaths of civilian children. Children have also been raped excessivly in times of war (for example Veitnam). I believe that the reference to the face on the TV screen is referring to politicians, "smiling and waving" as war goes on and children die. To me it says that we have lost our way and no longer follow God and will eventually annihilate ourselves. In the end we will be left with the judgement of God. (You'll repent for what you've done)

I believe that the statment " Child of the Flag" refers to younger members of the Armed Forces (of any nation). "Children" who fought and gave their lives, and of which where barely old enough (if at all) to understand why and what they where fighting for.
In addition, it may also mean that they are doomed to continue fighting for their flag. An Endless cycle. (these come to mind because they tie in with many of the other lyrics). Also, as a personal note , when I heard the line an image of the six men raising an american flag (the battle of Iwo Jima) quickly rushed in my head.

I believe it is about war. The "Serial Killer" refers to the leader/government/soldiers of the country that goes to war.

"So easy to control, bring to harm. A gathering of fools unjustified, on a mountain." refers to the apathetic and easily fooled public. "Without consternation our laws are lost. " - in war all the laws changes/are lost.

"Lost to butchers, lost to child killers, lost to narcotic ritual." =lost to soldiers

"We salute or burn, there is blood on both shores" refers to the fact that both sides suffer great losses

"Another tag, another headline. " - soldiers were dog tags to be able to identify the dead.

"Another smiling face shall stay 10 winters long forever" - referes to the images of the now dead soldier. (ie. an image shot long before he was dead... often images of a proud soldier in his parade uniform are shown)

"He is stalking the minds of dark poor souls. " the leader/government persuades the people to believe what they say. "I know it's right because I know it's time for freedom" - ironic statement... / what people are made to believe.

"To kill another and to kill another And to kill another child of the flag " to keep sending new soldiers out to die

"Gaze upon what you've become And take a look at what you've done. " - wake up and see what your actions have done. (or to the public.. what you're sympathy for the leader/government led to)

Personally, I believe this song is about wars between nations and the opposing world leaders who smile on TV, have pleasant formal lunch dinners together, and argue politics, while their people (children of the flag) murder each other.

War is the prevalent narrative people seem to pick up on, but I see something a bit darker.

Everybody seems to neglect the entire opening which, to me, sets up an almost dystopian future, culminating with "all too obsessed with weakness, we bring ourselves to meaninglessness". There is a HUGE lump of nihilism in that last line, too much for war alone to be the focus of the song. That is an unmistakable portrayal of social decay. War and anti war sentiments might be heard here, but it goes beyond that. This is a warning.

This is a song about the decay of society at large. "Salute or burn, there is blood on both shores" isn't about armed conflict, it's the eventuality that submitting to authority or not will lead to bloodshed regardless of the choice or intent- such is the nature of authoritarianism.

"So easy to control, bring to harm. A gathering of fools unjustified, on a mountain. I collect my thoughts And I rise above all that despises me. "

The gathering of fools is the government, authority, centralized power, whatever you would call it. The 'protagonist' of this story then proceeds and, in my eyes, establishes themself as a dissident or some sort of nemesis to the system.

"With hardened mind I traveled, with hardened heart I conquered a freedom so ironic, so despicable, so hypocritical. "

A misconception I've seen is that he is conquering "for" freedom. Not the case, if these lyrics are correct. This is where I think the misconception of War being the main theme comes from. Our main character is conquering freedom, and notes is ironic, despicable, and hypocritical nature. In the event that the correct lyrics are 'for' after-all, the rest of my thoughts still align pretty well, even onward.

"There is anger resolute. Rears its familiar head on the TV screen. In a dozen bags a life was placed. In a breath he smiled and waved.

For five minutes at a time the power held true. Without consternation our laws are lost. Lost to butchers, lost to child killers, lost to narcotic ritual. Another tag, another headline. Another smiling face shall stay 10 winters long forever. "

And here comes the dark turn. So, all of the criticism in mind, our narrator directs us to what I perceive as an atrocity. "In a dozen bags a life was placed" is... a pretty euphemistic way to describe the butchering of something. "In a breath he smiled and waved" - To me, this is an outside look at the unassuming man who turns out to be a Serial killer. Either that or it's a description of somebody that wound up being the victim - it's tough to say. This latter section, however, seems very clear to me.

5 minutes at a time? If you describe something like that, that more or less says to me that every minute that passes could be the end, in this case, of the power. "Without consternation" - and, predictably, corruption and decay do the rest, and society descends into lawlessness- now, whether this is for all of society or for a single individual is where things get interesting.

This whole time, I think this song has been about somebody's descent into becoming a Serial killer, and the cautionary tale to society at large.

"And where are the angels to guard? Where is the god of men and children? He is stalking the minds of dark poor souls. I know it's right because I know it's time for freedom:

To kill another and to kill another And to kill another child of the flag Till there are none left... and another, And to kill another, and to kill another...

Gaze upon what you've become And take a look at what you've done. You'll repent for what you've done Raping my daughter, raping my son."

The final 3 verses open with another strong wave of Nihilism and overt skepticism. Our protagonist has gone totally beyond the edge here, with notions that God has forsaken man and is now orchestrating the dark reality that he is in.

And we're back to the Freedom that was described earlier- Ironic, despicable, and hypocritical, and put to use 'to kill another, and to kill another...' and so on. 'Child of the flag' is an interesting turn of phrase, I genuinely have no exact answer as to what the flag is for, but I believe that some level of ambiguity is used for a reason. It could have been child of the cross, if this was directed towards god, but it specifies flag- so perhaps it refers to the people who are falling in line to the government, or perhaps, are members of the government? Hard to say.

And then the epilogue. There is actually a longer variation of this section used in "Serial Code", another song. But first, without that line, the epilogue seems to be a moment of either self reflection or a message of condemnation. If it's self reflection, it makes less sense if the theme is consistent and the children of the flag are categorized under 'all that despises' our protagonist. If the epilogue is a message of Condemnation it makes more sense as it is directly calling out the 'power' that barely held through for five minutes at a time.It could very well be the missing piece for everything in this song if it describes a descent of sort, as it would be the catalyzing event that sparks the change for our storyteller.

Now, IF we look at Serial Code...

"Take a look at what you've done And gaze upon what you've become Father help me to bring his end Then to hell his soul we'll send

The devil take you for his needs While children stab you and make you bleed You'll repent for what you've done For raping my daughter, raping my son"

I can see why this would have been kept separate. If we try to combine it with Serial Killer at large, it becomes a much stronger message of vengeance or retribution, which is counter to what VNV Nation tries to speak out about (Worth noting to those who don't know, VNV stands for Victory not Vengeance). Using Serial Code as the epilogue still sort of supports my interpretation, but like I said it's just not as true to VNV Nation as I imagine they would have liked.

But yeah that's my take.

This is a good song. I love the beat, and the lyrics are very powerful. Excellent. It's hard to find a meaning, but what I think it means is that humans are worthless and we are killing ourselves every minute, everyday, and we can't stop it, for we are too dumb.

I'm not sure I understand the Child of the flag reference. Its the only bit of the song I dont get.

I think the child of the flag line refers to members of a country. Basically, 'killing members of your own country', which isn't even an act of war, but simply an act of malice.

I have a feeling this song may be about war, but this part here tells me it's about Serial Killers.

"For five minutes at a time the power held true. "Without consternation our laws are lost."

Serial Killers don't obey our laws. Our laws say it's wrong to murder. But they do it anyway.

"Another tag, another headline."

When I hear this line, i think of a morgue, and the news telling about yet another tale of a murder or child lost to a butcher, lost to a child killer, lost to narcotic ritual.

"Another smiling face shall stay 10 winters long forever."

Ever seen a picture of a missing child on a milk carten? That's what I see when I hear this line.

The rest could be about war, "there is blood on both shores" We don't obey our own laws when we go to war.

We may fight for freedom, but at what cost?