To me, this is about the character Christian, who was raised in a tough neighborhood by bad parents and video games. He'll be graduating in 4 years and is rapidly becoming enlightened in many ways with age - socially, intellectually, politically. He's realizing that the government and many other Americans that are idolized are incredibly corrupt and are basically "cons" to society. He and his classmates were raised by these people and thus they are probably bound to become them as well. Also, in the lyrics it implies that working very hard for a living is prideful, but at the end of the day, all most of them can show for it is scars and an eventual death.
The final minute is, in my opinion, the most fascinating bit of music on the album. The guitars screech and at first Bille Joe sings "Dream America Dream", which is about hope and faith. Then it shifts to "scream America scream" because the dreams are merely that and are not grounded in reality. Once the dreams are over, and morning hits ("from the lights early dawn"), you must wake up and be met with the grim reality of the state of the country.
It's a very negative and depressing song despite the poppy, diverse sound. As much as Christian wants to dream, he's met with a grim reality at every corner.
To me, this is about the character Christian, who was raised in a tough neighborhood by bad parents and video games. He'll be graduating in 4 years and is rapidly becoming enlightened in many ways with age - socially, intellectually, politically. He's realizing that the government and many other Americans that are idolized are incredibly corrupt and are basically "cons" to society. He and his classmates were raised by these people and thus they are probably bound to become them as well. Also, in the lyrics it implies that working very hard for a living is prideful, but at the end of the day, all most of them can show for it is scars and an eventual death.
The final minute is, in my opinion, the most fascinating bit of music on the album. The guitars screech and at first Bille Joe sings "Dream America Dream", which is about hope and faith. Then it shifts to "scream America scream" because the dreams are merely that and are not grounded in reality. Once the dreams are over, and morning hits ("from the lights early dawn"), you must wake up and be met with the grim reality of the state of the country.
It's a very negative and depressing song despite the poppy, diverse sound. As much as Christian wants to dream, he's met with a grim reality at every corner.
Very good analysis! With more people like you on here, we may finally be able to figure out how the story is supposed to go.
Very good analysis! With more people like you on here, we may finally be able to figure out how the story is supposed to go.