Hmm, so my take on it is this; I think it shows the downfalls of drug use. For instace, the first two stanzas show the girl and her friends getting into drugs. You know, using them and feeling the effects and not caring. ("Staring into the intersection, she thinks that she can fly and she might
Holding on in a new direction, she's gonna try it tonight"; "She doesn't have a flame, she'd prefer to burn out like a torch. If she gets nowhere in life, at least she know's she pretty"; "Hey now, there's chemicals in the clouds. Hey now, they're calling the police; They won't get to us, anyhow.")

Then after the chorus, the 3rd stanza shows the effects taking a toll ("The moon is shining now and shadows are what's left of all the noise"; "He listens closely now, swears that he can hear a voice") to me, the "he can hear a voice" line hints at schizophrenia, since that can be a consequence with drug use and i think one of Jessica's friends now has that condition. Maybe the drugs fried his brain.

And i think the "what does it take to be a superhero in this world?" line is maybe referencing to rehab. The superhero saves and the people at rehabs who help the patients recover save their lives to some degree. The villian would be the drugs. Maybe Jessica died? Maybe she never recovered? And then it saying "We can escape, and then we'd skate away from all of this and no one ever does." shows the fear of relapse. no one ever fully escapes from drug abuse.

i think in general it's about growing up and making mistakes. to a point it does go hand in hand with what andrew says and how someone had said what if it was the other way around. face it no parent wants their kid on drugs and i think this is breaking down all the hopes and dreams parents have for their children.

i really hope that made sense.

-Megs.<3

Well...
When I listened to this song i always thought it was about suicide or something... haha I guess the line, "Starting into the intersection she thinks that she can fly..."
And then when "he" swears he can hear the straw dogs voice... Maybe that's what they see or hear before they do it...
I dunno your explanations make a lot more sense than mine now... Lol

part of this song is definitely about a girl who has cancerrr..

in the the daoist philosophy straw dogs were used for ceremonies and cherished beforehand; however, after the ceremony they were thrown away and destroyed. in my opinion, maybe theres a connection between someone living for instant gratification (like in the song) and something so praised and beautiful that only ends up being destroyed (like the straw dogs themselves).

at least that makes sense to me. but im not sure how likely it is that this song holds daoist philosophies.

i think that that it's about a girl who was really hurt and used drugs to escape from her pain...

"The closer I get to feeling, the further that I'm feeling from alright
The more I step into the sun, the more I step out of the light" she's hurting

"Staring into the intersection" she doesnt know where to go

"she thinks that she can fly and she might
Holding on in a new direction, she's gonna try it tonight" she wants to just start over, but se's so confused she satys in the same place....

"She doesn't have a flame, she'd prefer to burn out like a torch" she's burnedout, that's why she's "covered in a blanket on a Sunday porch"

straw dog is a slang for something that is made only to be destroyed
and the chemical in the clouds could be designer drugs(men made drugs), therefore i assume that kids (the girl) are out on the streets being exposed to drugs and have no way to defend themselves, hence being refered to as straw dog...

"What does it take to be a superhero in our world?
Make no mistake that these villains always get the girl" i think he loved her, but lost her to the drugs and people involved with it (i think maybe a dealer?)

"We can escape, and then we'd skate away from all of this
And no one ever does." he wants to get her away from all of it, but she never leaves...

The Straw dog is something that is made only to be destroyed. The fact that the girl has no real purpose on the path to self destruction implies that she is the straw dog, and destruction is the purpose for which she was created

This song is totally about trying a drug for the first time. Maybe x?
"She's gunna try it tonight"
"she thinks that she can fly and she might"
The closer I get to feeling, the further that I'm feeling from alright" feeling the effect of it
"if she gets no where in life at least she knows she pretty"
The whole chorus makes reference to it:
"Hey, now, the straw dog's out in the street
Hey now, there's chemicals in the clouds
Hey now, they're calling the police
They won't get to us, anyhow."

Chemicals in the clouds.. obvious.
calling the police..paraniod?

regardless of what its about this song is really amazing...but then again isnt every one of their songs??

Definately about doing drugs. Definately.

I love this song; and you know, how after listening to one song for a while you start picking up on certain aspects, and what suddenly hit me was that this song is about Drug use and it's affects.
The first line, "Staring into the intersection" would for the most part peer into a certain aspect of life, where one has just stopped upon a chance that they cannot take, or a stress that they cannot handle, and therefore, leading to line two, takes it out in ways that are proven worse for the body than stress could ever be.
The second, "she thinks that she can fly and she might, Holding on in a new direction, she's gonna try it tonight" in the first line, speaks to a circumstance that may have double meaning, might it only mean that she is attempting to get high for the first time, and while at a bad choice, she's fallen to peer pressure? Or does this line translate as that she is already physically high and thus is set into the illusions that such a drug may carry.
Then you get, "The closer I get to feeling, the further that I'm feeling from alright", again referencing a physical need where one seems to drop down to near death like choice, much like one of slitting wrists, that is a delusional defense mechanism due to an inability to handle stress, thus the more they would like to feel better, they are actually doing more harm on their bodies than they can even imagine. The forth line, "The more I step into the sun, the more I step out of the light," recaps the third, again with the digressing image of the further you try to mean something the worse you're creating the circumstance.
The fifth line, turning more to a narrative, "Thinking of the weekends she would party in the city" mainly plots a background information that she referring to the "city" is a chance to get away from it all, away from the certain place where "Sunday porches" are prominent, (usually outside of town a far distance), showing that she is trying to go and live in what society has deemed to be 'cool' and 'party-like' in atmosphere.
The fifth line, "She doesn't have a flame, she'd prefer to burn out like a torch" refers directly to her partying habits, the "flame" being hope, and therefore, with no where else to turn, she turns to the one thing that would never truly help her, but gives her a single 'burning sensation' that does give her the sense of what she doesn't have, but yet goes just as fast as it came.
The sixth line, "If she gets nowhere in life, at least she know's she pretty" is a mere detail that if left out would do no damage to the overall song meaning, but mainly points to the point where she has come to the point in her life where she doesn't care what happens to her body, as long as she is deemed 'in' with the party crowd, and therefore, feels her longing for an end to separation.
Beginning her speech, we note, "Hey, now, the straw dog's out in the street", as defined by an Urban Dictionary (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=straw+dog), a "straw dog" is something placed just to tear down, as if it has no meanings. This in itself could mean drugs in a roundabout sense, again with the fact that it gives you the momentary 'high' and is destroyed soon after.
The continuing line, “Hey now, there's chemicals in the clouds”, is physically noting her high for the first time in the song, noting that her “clouds”, or mind, are physically clouded, resulting most likely from a chemical-induced high. And the next, “Hey now, they're calling the police, They won't get to us, anyhow” This could refer to both actual police, which in any circumstance is against the law to use such high-providing drugs, and her knowing that she won’t get caught, even if it’s only a mental self examination that by far is no where near close to the truth. Second, it could mean that the “police” are coming to take her away, i.e., heaven or hell or death, whatever you want to believe, but she’s only going just far enough that she won’t step over into a death.
Beginning the second verse, “The moon is shining now and shadows are what's left of all the noise, Simple silhouettes and cutouts as if we had the choice” Again resulting from drug use, the world around her has all but slipped away.
The next line, “He listens closely now, swears that he can hear a voice that's calling him and saying”. The “him” could refer to anyone of helpful presence; he understands her predicament and therefore can see the mental pain she has induced upon herself. He is there not only to comfort, but to fill the place that her ‘straw dog’ may be taking.
Starting the third verse, “what does it take to be a superhero in our world? Make no mistake that these villains always get the girl”, this time this is stating his narrative, placing him in the point of a hero coming to save her from the drugs, which play the ‘villain’ role in her life. Continuing, “We can escape, and then we'd skate away from all of this, And no one ever does”, we figure the true outcome of the narration, that he has lost the girl to the drugs, she doesn’t want his help, she is therefore lost to the ‘villains’, and thus even though they could “escape”, she’s too far gone in her misery.
Main point of the song: This is what drugs do, a fickle little lift-up in a time of desperation, but then when a true time-lasting savior comes along to take it’s place you’re too lost in what you dream of having then facing reality. A straw dog is no exception for a true safety.

~Adarcoi

i think it has to do with drugs and not understanding who you are or what you wanna do.

also, i think it gives off that air of thinking you're invincible 'they wont get to us anyhow'
'the villan always gets the girl' superheros..etc.

drugs. def. drugs

LOVE SOCO & andrew mcmohan in general. i dont think i could ever pick between something corporate or jacks mannequin

I'm not certain what this song is about.
A 'straw dog,' however, is something that is made, only to be destroyed.

I love this song so much. Something Corporate, you guys were amazing. I think this song is all about being completely invincible teenagers in a grown up world. Everyone swears they care, that they're looking out for our futures, but no one seems to realize the actual hurt kids go through. Adults are like oh it's all good, and this song is kind of being like whatever, you won't get to me, someday i'll be able to lead my own life and fuck it up all i want

A straw dog is something that is built up just to be knocked down. I always interpreted the chemicals in the clouds line to mean drug use. So I always thought the song was about how he believes a life of drugs and partying is just something built up to be knocked down. This theory is supported by the line the closer that I get to feeling the further that I'm feeling from alright. Meaning the closer someone gets to feeling pain free and high from drug use, the further they are from feeling alright due to the guilt and problems associated with drug use. That's my interpretation.

I'm not sure what the straw dog is, either, but I love love love love this song. It's by favorite song by Something Corporate. It makes me feel happy and kind of sad at the same time. It's about a girl who gets into all sorts of trouble as an "escape" from reality, which is either too dull or too cruel. I guess she's saying that this is the easier way to be happy in life, just to screw around and have fun, and not have a worry. I love the piano part at the end.

I think this song is about the frailty of human life and how often it gets disregarded.

this song just has its way of making me feel invincible, as strange as that sounds

YAY---100!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =]

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kick ass song, i love it, going for 100

I looked up the meaning of "Straw Dog" and it means "object for the purpose of being destroyed" if that helps.
so.. it's normally a trap.

hmm.
xxx

a "straw dog" is a scapegoat people use to deflect their bad judgements and decisions off of themselves. perhaps "jessica's" straw dog being "out in the street" symbolizes that all her excuses and cover-ups are about to be demolished.

Or you know...whatever.

Straw Dogs is a great movie.