"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Stay away from me
Build a fortress and shield your beliefs
Touch the divine as we fall in line
Can I believe
When I don't trust?
All your theories turn to dust
I choose to hide
From the All-Seeing Eye
Destroy this city of delusion
And break these walls down
And I will avenge
And justify my reasons with your blood
You will not rest
Or settle for less
Until you guzzle and squander what's left
Do not deny
That you live
And let die
Destroy this city of delusion
And break these walls down
And I will avenge
And justify my reasons with your blood
Destroy this city of delusion
And break these walls down
And I will avenge
And justify my reasons with your blood
Build a fortress and shield your beliefs
Touch the divine as we fall in line
Can I believe
When I don't trust?
All your theories turn to dust
I choose to hide
From the All-Seeing Eye
Destroy this city of delusion
And break these walls down
And I will avenge
And justify my reasons with your blood
You will not rest
Or settle for less
Until you guzzle and squander what's left
Do not deny
That you live
And let die
Destroy this city of delusion
And break these walls down
And I will avenge
And justify my reasons with your blood
Destroy this city of delusion
And break these walls down
And I will avenge
And justify my reasons with your blood
Lyrics submitted by black_cow_of_death, edited by florspring, MyloAnimae
City of Delusion Lyrics as written by Matthew James Bellamy
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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I read a really good analysis that someone made in a Muse forum, connecting this song with the artwork of the cover of the album, Ill try quote some of it.
If we ignore the clouds in the sky and identify the red desert they're sitting in as Mars, they are the knights of Cydonia. They have little horses on the table. This suggests that they represent the four horsemen of the apocalypse, adapted from Biblical times to reflect the problems in our society. Each man represents: religious extremism, gouvernment control, energy crisis, and social injustice. They are playing poker, which: a. is a nod to Muse's newfound fondness of it on the MTVu tour b. implies that they're just passing the time before the world ends.
If you go around the table, starting with the man on the left and quoting City of Delusion you get this: "I will avenge....and justify my reasons with your blood" That guy is covered in religious figures and has a set of set of blinkers. Obvious message being that religious extremists are blind to the bigger picture.
Then the next man whose face we can't see, goes with thhis fraction of the song "I choose to hide from your all-seeing eye". This guy is wearing a suit covered in eyes, representing the 'all-seeing eye' of Illuminati conspiracy theories. Brilliantly, we can't see his face, so we can't identify who's really in control.
Now the guy sitting on the right "Do not deny......that you live and let die." The man on the right is fat and wearing a gold suit, implying wealth and representing the financial inequality of modern society. Interestingly, he's looking to the Illuminatus for his cues which would make it clear that there's a connection between the very rich and those who are controlling the world.
Finally there's the man on the other side of the table. "You'll not rest or settle for less...until you guzzle and squander what's left." He's wearing a suit made of little shiny things. They could be mirrors, a symbol of our vain consumer culture, but I think they're little solar panels. Very symbolically Mr Energy Crisis is staring the Illuminatus (ie our leaders) in the face but the Illuminatus is looking past him. In the context of the poker game the Knights seem to be playing, he's challenging the Illuminatus to do something. This would be very in keeping with the band's references to peak oil.
I totally agree with what this guy thinks, I quoted it from that forum. Its really well thought and totally makes sense :)
Thank you, Luckymuse, for sharing this with everyone! That is very well put. If one looks at the cover more closely, the symbolism becomes quite obvious (unfortunately, the CD art does not do it justice, so I recommend downloading a high-resolution jpeg from the internet). As far as this song goes, to me it feels like the center piece of the whole album, and a perfect summation of everything that Matt Bellemy has been alluding to in his lyrics, which is: "WE ARE BEING LIED TO AND MANIPULATED." What most of us believe about the world today is simply not true. We live in this "City of Delusion" where the news media feeds us lies everyday and we swallow it whole thinking it is the truth. Technology has advanced to a state that we are bombarded with messages everyday telling us to obey and consume. OBEY and CONSUME. We are told that these are our prime responsibilities. If we do not or can not follow these, we are not worthwhile and to be disposed with. Don't believe me? Just look at the advertisements in magazines, on television, on billboards. There is always something to buy, something to consume, and we are told we need it. And why do you think the news media focuses so much on the negative... on violence, on disasters, on scandals, on everyday crime? To get us to fear and obey! War, religious extremism, social injustice, suppression of knowledge, environmental destruction, economic collapse... these are all being set in place in order to bring the population of the world to their knees begging for their leaders to save them, not realizing who perpetrated the situation to begin with. By the time that happens it will be too late and we will have no choice but to obey. Anyone who does not submit to authority will not be tolerated. We will be living in a police state, with no rights, no freedom, and no reason to live. We will become slaves. You have to ask yourself, is this is what you want for your future or your children's future? We have to wake up. We have to open our eyes, and convince others to do the same. Change will not be brought about until there is a mass-awakening.<br /> <br /> “Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it.” -John Lennon
I completely agree with both of you, and the Lennon quote is one of my favorites.
I completely agree with both of you, and the Lennon quote is one of my favorites.
Well...very clever...I have studied that cover and got nothing...which is probably why I failed my semiotic essay. I love this forum, it doesn't matter what the song is about (any song), you take your own interpretation and if you don't have one you're satisfied with ,you come to this forum and choose one you affiliate with best. And even better if it comes from a Muse forum. thanks for posting :)
i think it's about american-style goverments.
Can't believe What I dont trust All your theories turn to dust I choose to hide From your seeing eyes
stuff like conspiracies, cover-ups etc. and the last two lines could be either spying on us in general or more specifically maybe the Star Wars program?
You will not rest Or settle for less To you guzzle and squander whats left Do not deny That you live and let die
i cant help but think "guzzle and squander" refers to petrol (oil for americans). rest is pretty self-explanatory.
i agree, this song is about american politics. "The city of delusion" is DC.; "fortress your beliefs/ touch the divine" references religious conservatives; the "All Seing Eye" i think has to do with the wire tapping; "all your theories turn to dust "is obviously iraq and the non-existent weapons of mass destruction; and the 4th stanza is a reference to the present war
This is how I interpret:
Stay away from me Build a fortress and shield your beliefs Touch the divine As we fall in line
I dont want any part of this illusion that our government/world religions use to control us. Religion/Government has built a fortress for our beleifs, they use God, the devine, to keep us in line.
Can I believe When I don't trust All your theories turn to dust I choose to hide From the All Seeing Eye
How can I believe all that has been fed to me when I learn of all the lies. Now I must question all that I know. Now I choose not to be a sheep and steer clear of the global elite/illuminati/new world order and their agenda.
Destroy this city of delusion And break these walls down And I will avenge And justify my reasons With your blood
Now that I am aware of the wool being pulled over my eyes I am feeling the revolt build up inside. (Pay attention to the change in music). Its time to wake up and do something about whats happening in the world.
You will not rest Or settle for less Until you guzzle and squander whats left Do not deny That you live and let die
Global Elite/world leaders of the past whose bloodlines make up the current world leaders and media mogules..those who manipulate us will not rest until they have reached thier goals to create a world government. It doesnt matter how they do it...all that matters is their blood having control. They will destroy the lot of us, or divide us and have us destroy one another so that they can live in power when all is said and done.
Destroy this city of delusion And break these walls down And I will avenge And justify my reasons With your blood
We must overcome and tear down these people who manipulate us through the media before they turn us all against one another and send us to our death. Our reasons our justified. Unite. One love.
dawntreader has it. there's authority (the government it seems) and it's lying to you. but people don't like the thought so they build walls to protect themselves from the conspiracy theories
"destroy this city of delusion" wake up to reality
good one with the oil thing. so that verse is him talking to people in general. "you live and let die" is about peoples apathy to the war
This is definitely about the one's who really run the show... The Illuminati. As if the "All Seeing Eye" reference wasn't too much of a giveaway!
This song feels like you're inside 1984.
"Can I believe When I don't trust All your theories turn to dust I choose to hide From the All Seeing Eye"
what i see in this part is an anti-Illuminati statement (i choose to hide from the All Seeing Eye) that's slipped into a anti-religious context. im really that someone would put anything anti-illuminati in mainstream music, but hey, someone's gotta exist outside their control.
I think like many others have said that this song is basically about governmental control of the masses, and the lies and manipulation they use to keep everyone under the thumb.
"Can I believe/When I don't trust/All your theories turn to dust" - about having no faith in what our leaders tell us, government lies and propaganda, like the alleged WMDs in Iraq and the justification of war.
"I choose to hide/From the All Seeing Eye" - allusions again to government control and the police state, also I would say a pretty obvious reference to the Illuminati
"You will not rest/Or settle for less/Until you guzzle and squander whats left" - could be about using up all the world's resources with no regard for the future or the effect it's having now, "guzzle and squander" sounds like a specific reference to oil consumption
"Do not deny/That you live and let die" - talking about the global elite taking what they want and leaving nothing for the rest of us
That's how I interpret it anyway. It's a very good song.
lol i think it's theories...not fairies.