I feel like this song could be a reflection from the perspective of a small worker who is a relatively insignificant cog within a larger industrial society that values the community over the individual. He is reflecting upon the age at hand, and its (sarcastic?) utopian promise of “eternal living” and the merits of hard work and duty, and he is also pondering his individual mortality within that society’s framework (acknowledging he will eventually rot into nothingness, but finding some sort of purpose in a mantra of giving maximum effort in life). It somewhat reminds me of the world described by the book “Brave New World,” or of any society that is more focused on productivity, stability and the “greater good” than upon the value and purpose of individual lives. The line about the world being “split in fives” reminds me of Brave New World’s storyline where the population is divided up into five distinct castes, but the line could very well represent any sort of cold, broad statistical categorizing of a population by governments, corporations, etc. — yet another way of dehumanizing individuals and lessening their value while propping up large entities and the greater community. “Victoria” may be a reference to the Victorian Era and Industrial Revolutions in Europe and North America, as they seem an appropriate setting for the narrator of the song within this interpretation. As an Adze is a woodworking tool, it is possible that the “Age of Adz” could refer to an age that values hard work and industry above all else (serving as a symbol not unlike the sickle and hammer are to communism), though the spelling difference makes me question this. I’m also wondering if “Adz” could mean, “odds,” “ads” (as in “advertisements,” consumerism), or “adds” (as in adding small value at different stages along an assembly line). I still don't have a firm grasp on this song (or album), and I'd like to look into the Royal Robertson connection people are referencing.
I feel like this song could be a reflection from the perspective of a small worker who is a relatively insignificant cog within a larger industrial society that values the community over the individual. He is reflecting upon the age at hand, and its (sarcastic?) utopian promise of “eternal living” and the merits of hard work and duty, and he is also pondering his individual mortality within that society’s framework (acknowledging he will eventually rot into nothingness, but finding some sort of purpose in a mantra of giving maximum effort in life). It somewhat reminds me of the world described by the book “Brave New World,” or of any society that is more focused on productivity, stability and the “greater good” than upon the value and purpose of individual lives. The line about the world being “split in fives” reminds me of Brave New World’s storyline where the population is divided up into five distinct castes, but the line could very well represent any sort of cold, broad statistical categorizing of a population by governments, corporations, etc. — yet another way of dehumanizing individuals and lessening their value while propping up large entities and the greater community. “Victoria” may be a reference to the Victorian Era and Industrial Revolutions in Europe and North America, as they seem an appropriate setting for the narrator of the song within this interpretation. As an Adze is a woodworking tool, it is possible that the “Age of Adz” could refer to an age that values hard work and industry above all else (serving as a symbol not unlike the sickle and hammer are to communism), though the spelling difference makes me question this. I’m also wondering if “Adz” could mean, “odds,” “ads” (as in “advertisements,” consumerism), or “adds” (as in adding small value at different stages along an assembly line). I still don't have a firm grasp on this song (or album), and I'd like to look into the Royal Robertson connection people are referencing.