The literal interpretation this song is a man in his boat stranded in the middle of the sea, but the metaphorical meaning is the most interesting part if you understand the context of the entire album.
Mirrors starts off by saying everything is fleeting, new, and fragmented. In a sense, the world seems chaotic, and that the person is not learning and growing from it. It also brings on the first recurring theme: "Close one eye. Step to the side." The person that is being depicted is overwhelmed with the world and knows he won't understand all of its workings, so he takes in half of it and lets the rest pass him by.
Obfuscation is more focused on control. The word "obfuscation" means to make obscure or incomprehensible to hide a meaning. The recurring theme of that song is that people will never be satisfied about knowing everything, but we still feel like we need to know all even though we can't. This is applicable to the government, with laws that intrude and invade privacy, but can be used in many other situations. Since this is human nature, governments are naturally going to want to know everything, but it becomes very much a need for the power of knowledge. Near the end of the song, the "governing body" (if we use that analogy) is reiterates the lines "Close one eye. Step to the side." HOWEVER, this has a completely different meaning. The willingness to know less (as in Mirrors) has become the demand to learn more; you are being told to ignore all the OBFUSCATED laws and practices and move aside. THESE are the fleeting and new fragments discussed in Mirrors: the obfuscated practices of the being taking control.
Disease, Injury, and Madness is easiest to compare to Orwell's 1984. The song about trying to gain control of people to rid them of their "flaws." This world parallels that of Orwell's dystopian vision. The big difference is that the being taking control ultimately admits he failed and blames humanity instead of himself for the flaws, resulting in dehumanization of the species, and the urge to exert more control or give up.
Fossil Genera is centralized around the idea of satellites, the final attempt to enclose and monitor society. The satellites supposedly can determine that there is an outer threat and that the "new" government needs to be trusted. Whether the new government took form via revolution or re-election is left to interpretation. The ending describes how the "new" government took control. ONCE AGAIN, we see the need to both obfuscate and (ironically) know everything. This is how the new being plans to move on. And with the satellites ("more sky"), they exert control.
Desert of Song, reminiscent of Rush's 2112, describes the fall of music. Music is expression, and thus, expression is void in the world. Short and simple.
Thus, we get to Swim to the Moon. To give this already lengthy comment some brevity, swimming to the moon is a metaphor for leaving the view of the satellites and finding a place of peace where your every action is scrutinized. Once again, the swimmer is still in the ocean, but his goal is on a different level. Though it seems impossible, death to him is a fair enough cost for a brief moment of peace from this chaotic and obfuscated world.
Ultimately, I think we all should take a moment every now and then to try and swim to the moon...
The literal interpretation this song is a man in his boat stranded in the middle of the sea, but the metaphorical meaning is the most interesting part if you understand the context of the entire album.
Mirrors starts off by saying everything is fleeting, new, and fragmented. In a sense, the world seems chaotic, and that the person is not learning and growing from it. It also brings on the first recurring theme: "Close one eye. Step to the side." The person that is being depicted is overwhelmed with the world and knows he won't understand all of its workings, so he takes in half of it and lets the rest pass him by.
Obfuscation is more focused on control. The word "obfuscation" means to make obscure or incomprehensible to hide a meaning. The recurring theme of that song is that people will never be satisfied about knowing everything, but we still feel like we need to know all even though we can't. This is applicable to the government, with laws that intrude and invade privacy, but can be used in many other situations. Since this is human nature, governments are naturally going to want to know everything, but it becomes very much a need for the power of knowledge. Near the end of the song, the "governing body" (if we use that analogy) is reiterates the lines "Close one eye. Step to the side." HOWEVER, this has a completely different meaning. The willingness to know less (as in Mirrors) has become the demand to learn more; you are being told to ignore all the OBFUSCATED laws and practices and move aside. THESE are the fleeting and new fragments discussed in Mirrors: the obfuscated practices of the being taking control.
Disease, Injury, and Madness is easiest to compare to Orwell's 1984. The song about trying to gain control of people to rid them of their "flaws." This world parallels that of Orwell's dystopian vision. The big difference is that the being taking control ultimately admits he failed and blames humanity instead of himself for the flaws, resulting in dehumanization of the species, and the urge to exert more control or give up.
Fossil Genera is centralized around the idea of satellites, the final attempt to enclose and monitor society. The satellites supposedly can determine that there is an outer threat and that the "new" government needs to be trusted. Whether the new government took form via revolution or re-election is left to interpretation. The ending describes how the "new" government took control. ONCE AGAIN, we see the need to both obfuscate and (ironically) know everything. This is how the new being plans to move on. And with the satellites ("more sky"), they exert control.
Desert of Song, reminiscent of Rush's 2112, describes the fall of music. Music is expression, and thus, expression is void in the world. Short and simple.
Thus, we get to Swim to the Moon. To give this already lengthy comment some brevity, swimming to the moon is a metaphor for leaving the view of the satellites and finding a place of peace where your every action is scrutinized. Once again, the swimmer is still in the ocean, but his goal is on a different level. Though it seems impossible, death to him is a fair enough cost for a brief moment of peace from this chaotic and obfuscated world.
Ultimately, I think we all should take a moment every now and then to try and swim to the moon...