Reflection

Simply on a personal note, I first listenedn any drugs. And I don't claim they are the "key" to understanding the song, or even that it has any relation to this before I'd ever take to drugs whatsoever. However, I thought I understood it, more or less, but really didn't exactly connect with it. After my first encounter with psychedelic mushrooms, I listened to it again and it was like I'd literally transformed my interpretation of this song. Again, I know it probably isn't the same for everybody, but on a personal level I do feel I understand the song a lot better than ever before.

My Interpretation: I see a man who has come to realize he's disgusted with the person he's become. He fears it's too late to turn away, he's gone too far, and perhaps he should simply embrace it (the ego, or "self-indulgent pitiful hole"). Then, in the pit of his disgrace, he has an epiphany. The moon, as "full and bright" as it is, cannot and does not rely on its own self to be at its "maximum," as it were. It seeks the light from the "sun," an endless source of energy and life (for this planet, at least). Just like it, the man should seek guidance, recognize his own imperfections, and accept help from a "higher order" (be it reason, religion, spirituality, anything), in order to be truly whole or happy, or reach a sort of enlightenment. But when you just accept yourself as you are, you're no better than the moon without the sun, just a "lifeless satellite"

The man understands, he wants to change what he's become, he doesn't need to sit and simply suffer his 'narcissistic' existence anymore - he wants to be alive. Now that he truly believes he can be saved from himself, he turns to the audience and gives his sort of testimony and call to action. He cries out that we join him in a search for truth, to cast our our pitiful judgements of one another, to want something more than simply what we've come to understand in this world. It's not some contract, X number of years on earth for some heaven after death; rather, it's a promise for a happy life in the now. This world offers so much more than many have witnessed, and he begs we not spare ourselves its beauty and a chance to see beyond our ego. Our lives are a journey and there's only so many steps we can take before "we pine away," so don't take it for granted.

I don't claim any superior knowledge over anyone who has or hasn't taken any drugs, meditated, gone through life changing experiences, nor is it my intention to give off that tone. That's what I hear when I listen to this song, and I'm sure I'm not alone. :)