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Moon shining down through the palms
Shadows moving on the sand
Somebody whispering the twenty-third Psalm
Dusty rifle in his trembling hands
Somebody trying just to stay alive
He got promises to keep
Over the ocean in America
Far away and fast asleep
Silent stars blinking in the blackness of an endless sky
Cold silver satellites, ghostly caravans passing by
Galaxies unfolding, new worlds being born
Pilgrims and prodigals creeping toward the dawn
But it's a long road out of Eden
Music blasting from an SUV
On a bright and sunny day
Rolling down the interstate
In the good ol' USA
Having lunch at the petroleum club
Smoking fine cigars and swapping lies
"Gimme 'nother slice of that barbecued brisket!"
"Gimme 'nother piece of that pecan pie"
Freeways flickering, cell phones chiming a tune
We're riding to Utopia, road map says we'll be arriving soon
Captains of the old order clinging to the reins
Assuring us these aches inside are only growing pains
But it's a long road out of Eden
Back home, I was so certain; the path was very clear
But now I have to wonder, what are we doing here?
I'm not counting on tomorrow and I can't tell wrong from right
But I'd give anything to be there in your arms tonight
Weaving down the American highway
Through the litter and the wreckage, and the cultural junk
Bloated with entitlement, loaded on propaganda
Now we're driving dazed and drunk
Went down the road to Damascus, the road to Mandalay
Met the ghost of Caesar on the Appian Way
He said, "It's hard to stop this binging once you get a taste
But the road to empire is a bloody, stupid waste"
Behold the bitten apple, the power of the tools
But all the knowledge in the world is of no use to fools
And it's a long road out of Eden
Shadows moving on the sand
Somebody whispering the twenty-third Psalm
Dusty rifle in his trembling hands
Somebody trying just to stay alive
He got promises to keep
Over the ocean in America
Far away and fast asleep
Silent stars blinking in the blackness of an endless sky
Cold silver satellites, ghostly caravans passing by
Galaxies unfolding, new worlds being born
Pilgrims and prodigals creeping toward the dawn
But it's a long road out of Eden
Music blasting from an SUV
On a bright and sunny day
Rolling down the interstate
In the good ol' USA
Having lunch at the petroleum club
Smoking fine cigars and swapping lies
"Gimme 'nother slice of that barbecued brisket!"
"Gimme 'nother piece of that pecan pie"
Freeways flickering, cell phones chiming a tune
We're riding to Utopia, road map says we'll be arriving soon
Captains of the old order clinging to the reins
Assuring us these aches inside are only growing pains
But it's a long road out of Eden
Back home, I was so certain; the path was very clear
But now I have to wonder, what are we doing here?
I'm not counting on tomorrow and I can't tell wrong from right
But I'd give anything to be there in your arms tonight
Weaving down the American highway
Through the litter and the wreckage, and the cultural junk
Bloated with entitlement, loaded on propaganda
Now we're driving dazed and drunk
Went down the road to Damascus, the road to Mandalay
Met the ghost of Caesar on the Appian Way
He said, "It's hard to stop this binging once you get a taste
But the road to empire is a bloody, stupid waste"
Behold the bitten apple, the power of the tools
But all the knowledge in the world is of no use to fools
And it's a long road out of Eden
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Donald Rumsfeld listened to these words and caught their meaning. Sweet to be in the Petroleum Club in the good old USA. Not so good to have a dusty rifle in your hands in the former Garden of Eden, now called Iraq. This must have been written at least 4 years ago and of course no end in sight. Long road out of Eden for the US forces. Dick and Donald should have read relevant bits of the Bible, plus Seven Pillars of Wisdom by Lawrence of Arabia before attacking them Weapons of Mass Destruction they had positively identified on satellite pics. So sad, this mistake. No doubt Saddam was a bad guy, but the invasion to liberate people and await flowers from the welcoming oppressed, as did indeed happen in France 1945 was a bad plan.
There's no reason that the song can't be about Iraq on one level (the very obvious level such as "dusty rifle in his trembling hands"; undoubtedly there is an element of protest against the Iraq war, and the opening of the song also alludes to this) and the metaphorical Eden of the western world on another level.
You've expressed your opinion as though it is an indisputable fact, a habit that is frowned upon here.
Also, to state that "this song has nothing to do with eden" and to then use the supposed geographical location of Eden to relate it to Iraq is somewhat contradictory; if the song had nothing to do with eden, then surely the geographical location of eden would be irrelevant?
Interpretations aren't set in stone.
The 23rd psalm excerpt: "He maketh me to lie down in green [1] pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake".
This psalm is intrinsically related to funerals. I think the rest of the song is pretty literal and needs to explanation other than just READ IT! Listen!
Long road out of eden ~ Long road out of IRAQ. Its about pulling the troops out.
The song ends with a march cadence on the drums...repeating and repeating....
Powerful song, wonderful song.
"Behold the bitten apple, the power of the tools
But all the knowledge in the world is of no use to fools
And it's a long road out of Eden"
suggests to me that we glory in the power that we have obtained by "eating the forbidden fruit" (perhaps a metaphor for gain through morally dubious means, for example war) but that this is nothing but foolish pride in power that we do little to deserve. We've bitten the apple and created our new Eden, and it doesn't look like we'll be leaving any time soon.
I think that the song's talking about how society is changing, and that maybe it's not for the best. Eden clearly refers to the Garden of Eden, so my interpretation is that since Adam and Eve were said to have been banished from the Garden, we've drifted even farther away from the Garden.
This is just what I think.
It's an amazing song.