To be honest, I think it's about Mao Zedong, especially seeing as how the video is set in China. Here's my interpretation of the lyrics, looking at the Mao theory:
"He’s a stranger to some
And a vision to none
He can never get enough,
Get enough of the one"
Mao was widely adored by people in his country, as in a "stranger" to them - he was a complete celebrity so his adorees never knew him. And "a vision to none" could be that now people don't see him in that way, so he is no longer a vision to them; or, in China he has left his mark, so even though he's dead he still leaves an impression. "He can never get enough of the one" is quite difficult...could "the one" be himself?
"For a fortune he'd quit"
Mao was always after riches and glory.
"But it’s hard to admit
How it ends and begins"
Mao could never admit he was wrong, and a bad leader.
"On his face is a map of the world
(A map of the world)
On his face is a map of the world
(A map of the world)"
Mao's actions were seen all over the world, by people everywhere; everyone sees the same thing on his face no matter where they look in their part of the world.
"From yesterday, it’s coming!
From yesterday, the fear!"
Once again, the repeated mistakes Mao made came back to haunt him. Perhaps the fear of the Tibetan people coming back to bite him, to be crass, in the arse? His "empire" crumbling due to people world-wide seeing the way Tibetans are treated?
From yesterday, it calls him
But he doesn't want to read the message here"
Mao repeatedly made the same mistakes - the sparrow campaign, increasing China's iron industry, all went down the pan due to his being completely ignorant. "He doesn't wanna read the message here" is that he refused to see that any of his country's problems were his fault.
"On a mountain he sits, its not of gold but of shit
Through the blood he can look, see the lives that he took"
Mao had people murdered, his army of young people killed others who didn't follow Mao, even members of their own family - so "See the lives that he took" means how he indirectly murdered hundreds of thousands of people. "On a mountain..." is quite possibly how now he is not seen as a great leader, he is seen for how he truly was, and his mountain of gold has turned to nothing. Or maybe how he turned his golden country into quite literally, shit, during his reign. Also, the brutal treatment of Tibet could be incorporated here.
"From a count to the one
He'll decide when he's done with the innocent"
The one-child policy, killing babies, brainwashing children etc. Kinda obvious.
That's just my interpretation though ^_^ After all, the time this song was released was kinda when all the Tibet stuff was coming further out into the open, so it makes sense.
To be honest, I think it's about Mao Zedong, especially seeing as how the video is set in China. Here's my interpretation of the lyrics, looking at the Mao theory:
"He’s a stranger to some And a vision to none He can never get enough, Get enough of the one"
Mao was widely adored by people in his country, as in a "stranger" to them - he was a complete celebrity so his adorees never knew him. And "a vision to none" could be that now people don't see him in that way, so he is no longer a vision to them; or, in China he has left his mark, so even though he's dead he still leaves an impression. "He can never get enough of the one" is quite difficult...could "the one" be himself?
"For a fortune he'd quit"
Mao was always after riches and glory.
"But it’s hard to admit How it ends and begins"
Mao could never admit he was wrong, and a bad leader.
"On his face is a map of the world (A map of the world) On his face is a map of the world (A map of the world)"
Mao's actions were seen all over the world, by people everywhere; everyone sees the same thing on his face no matter where they look in their part of the world.
"From yesterday, it’s coming! From yesterday, the fear!"
Once again, the repeated mistakes Mao made came back to haunt him. Perhaps the fear of the Tibetan people coming back to bite him, to be crass, in the arse? His "empire" crumbling due to people world-wide seeing the way Tibetans are treated?
From yesterday, it calls him But he doesn't want to read the message here"
Mao repeatedly made the same mistakes - the sparrow campaign, increasing China's iron industry, all went down the pan due to his being completely ignorant. "He doesn't wanna read the message here" is that he refused to see that any of his country's problems were his fault.
"On a mountain he sits, its not of gold but of shit Through the blood he can look, see the lives that he took"
Mao had people murdered, his army of young people killed others who didn't follow Mao, even members of their own family - so "See the lives that he took" means how he indirectly murdered hundreds of thousands of people. "On a mountain..." is quite possibly how now he is not seen as a great leader, he is seen for how he truly was, and his mountain of gold has turned to nothing. Or maybe how he turned his golden country into quite literally, shit, during his reign. Also, the brutal treatment of Tibet could be incorporated here.
"From a count to the one He'll decide when he's done with the innocent"
The one-child policy, killing babies, brainwashing children etc. Kinda obvious.
That's just my interpretation though ^_^ After all, the time this song was released was kinda when all the Tibet stuff was coming further out into the open, so it makes sense.