as expected, this is a highly politicised song by Bruce. to take his personal political views into consideration, when I say 'the government', I really mean 'the Republicans', because Bruce is staunchly Democrat.
'I been knocking on the door that holds the throne'
= questioning those in power
'stumbling on good hearts turned to stone'
= politicians who came to do good and stayed to do well
'we take care of our own'
= the government doesn't take care of us, so we've got to do it ourselves. 'our own' probably refers to Americans.
'wherever this flag's flown'
= this could mean any number of things, but given the USA's status as the 'international police', they make their presence felt in a LOT of places around the world, i.e. fly their flag.
'where...
where...
where...'
= these are all typical questions that voters ask of their politicians. the line 'where's the work that'll set my hands, my soul free' is particularly interesting, because it has its origins in Nazi concentration camps. the Nazis placed 'arbeit macht frei' on a sign above the entrance to their Auschwitz concentration camp, which is translated as 'work sets you free'. basically Bruce is drawing a parallel between the govt. and Nazis.
as expected, this is a highly politicised song by Bruce. to take his personal political views into consideration, when I say 'the government', I really mean 'the Republicans', because Bruce is staunchly Democrat.
'I been knocking on the door that holds the throne' = questioning those in power
'stumbling on good hearts turned to stone' = politicians who came to do good and stayed to do well
'we take care of our own' = the government doesn't take care of us, so we've got to do it ourselves. 'our own' probably refers to Americans.
'wherever this flag's flown' = this could mean any number of things, but given the USA's status as the 'international police', they make their presence felt in a LOT of places around the world, i.e. fly their flag.
'where... where... where...' = these are all typical questions that voters ask of their politicians. the line 'where's the work that'll set my hands, my soul free' is particularly interesting, because it has its origins in Nazi concentration camps. the Nazis placed 'arbeit macht frei' on a sign above the entrance to their Auschwitz concentration camp, which is translated as 'work sets you free'. basically Bruce is drawing a parallel between the govt. and Nazis.