Given cman's info from Ted, you can kinda figure out the classical references, assuming they're not from Ullysses (because no way am I gonna talk about Ullysses).
Odysseus, after the Trojan War, set off for home, but it took years upon years for him to reach him home, to find it far different than how he left it. Take this as an metaphor for the American soldier, leaving home to fight, then taking to long to return to a home that has invariably changed and may not want him.
Dedalus was the father of Icarus, and a great architect/mechanic. He crafted wings for the two of them to fly, but Icarus flew too close to the sun and was lost. Afterwards, Dedalus threw himself into the sea. The loss of a child and the ensuing depression/death certainly rings true in this song and in the context of a war-hungry America.
Given cman's info from Ted, you can kinda figure out the classical references, assuming they're not from Ullysses (because no way am I gonna talk about Ullysses).
Odysseus, after the Trojan War, set off for home, but it took years upon years for him to reach him home, to find it far different than how he left it. Take this as an metaphor for the American soldier, leaving home to fight, then taking to long to return to a home that has invariably changed and may not want him.
Dedalus was the father of Icarus, and a great architect/mechanic. He crafted wings for the two of them to fly, but Icarus flew too close to the sun and was lost. Afterwards, Dedalus threw himself into the sea. The loss of a child and the ensuing depression/death certainly rings true in this song and in the context of a war-hungry America.