I'm pretty sure I heard Thom say in an interview that this song was about global warming and the fact that world leaders recognize it's a problem but just sort of ignore it. So with the line "But you just move the hands upon the clock throw coins in the wishing well for us" he's saying that our leaders waste time with talking and half-assed "solutions" to make the public think that they're actually doing something when in reality "Time is running out for us". I think he's also saying with the line "throw coins in the wishing well" that they are trying their luck and eventually its going to catch up with them.
I'm pretty sure I heard Thom say in an interview that this song was about global warming and the fact that world leaders recognize it's a problem but just sort of ignore it. So with the line "But you just move the hands upon the clock throw coins in the wishing well for us" he's saying that our leaders waste time with talking and half-assed "solutions" to make the public think that they're actually doing something when in reality "Time is running out for us". I think he's also saying with the line "throw coins in the wishing well" that they are trying their luck and eventually its going to catch up with them.