Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

My interpretation of the song is one in which the protagonist is living in an oppressive environment; it's not overtly oppressive, like Communist Russia, but at the same time, her identity is being stifled to an extent by those around her. They "hear [her] singing and they tell [her] to stop" and to quit being "pretentious." In my understanding of the word, pretentious connotes showing off or being ostentatious, and the fact that these people are equating her singing, a form of expression, to pretentiousness implies that any outpour of emotion or thought is looked down upon; everyone is expected to stay mute, conform, and follow order ("just punch the clock"). I think one of the more insightful lines in the song is when the narrator says that she "needs the darkness, someone please cut the lights." Normally, one must shed light on something to discover its meaning or truth, or in others case, follow the light, but here, she needs the opposite. I feel like this is a way of her going against the grain of what is expected of her. I hear some echoes of Emerson throughout parts of the song, particularly from his essay "Self Reliance." Anyway, this song really is my favorite one by Arcade Fire!