The Schizoid Man is one whose moral values are contradictory. The song is written in the context of an unwinnable war and senseless competition to consume. It is a criticism of American culture in the era of its composition and remains relevant today.
"Cat's foot" and "iron claw" is reminiscent of Neil Young's "Kinder, gentler, machine gun hand". Here the lyrics are a reference to the dichotomy of modern man's value system. He wants to tread quietly (peacefully) but he's also the hunter (cat) who will strike without mercy (iron claw) against his opposition. The false belief that one can be more peaceful and more violent at the same time is sheer insanity.
The "neuro-surgeons screaming for more" is a reference to men who seem to have it all. He has brilliance, wealthy, prestige, a beautiful wife, and yet somehow that is not enough for him. Fear of losing his possessions drives him to paranoia and misery. It is sheer insanity to strive for everything and yet be happy with nothing.
"Blood rack, barbed wire" represents the amorality of war. The "politician's funeral pyre" is an unwinnable war. To stave off his own political suicide, the politician allows his military forces to burn innocents with "napalm fire". The idea of slaughtering thousands to save one is moral insanity.
Death is sown throughout the world so that the neuro-surgeon can have even more than the everything he has now. Acquiring resources from one person means having to take resources from the "poet's starving children". Wanting what you do not need is moral inanity.
The neurosurgeon, rather than a symbol of wealth, may be operating on the Schizoid Man, screaming for more drugs, more instruments, to turn the Man into an even more dangerous monster.
The neurosurgeon, rather than a symbol of wealth, may be operating on the Schizoid Man, screaming for more drugs, more instruments, to turn the Man into an even more dangerous monster.
I made an alternate interpretation of the surgeon as the soldier in a later posting. The soldier performs lobotomies with his bullets. Given the ethically questionable psychological and scientific experiments by the government in that era, I have to wonder if you are not absolutely correct.
I made an alternate interpretation of the surgeon as the soldier in a later posting. The soldier performs lobotomies with his bullets. Given the ethically questionable psychological and scientific experiments by the government in that era, I have to wonder if you are not absolutely correct.
The Schizoid Man is one whose moral values are contradictory. The song is written in the context of an unwinnable war and senseless competition to consume. It is a criticism of American culture in the era of its composition and remains relevant today.
"Cat's foot" and "iron claw" is reminiscent of Neil Young's "Kinder, gentler, machine gun hand". Here the lyrics are a reference to the dichotomy of modern man's value system. He wants to tread quietly (peacefully) but he's also the hunter (cat) who will strike without mercy (iron claw) against his opposition. The false belief that one can be more peaceful and more violent at the same time is sheer insanity.
The "neuro-surgeons screaming for more" is a reference to men who seem to have it all. He has brilliance, wealthy, prestige, a beautiful wife, and yet somehow that is not enough for him. Fear of losing his possessions drives him to paranoia and misery. It is sheer insanity to strive for everything and yet be happy with nothing.
"Blood rack, barbed wire" represents the amorality of war. The "politician's funeral pyre" is an unwinnable war. To stave off his own political suicide, the politician allows his military forces to burn innocents with "napalm fire". The idea of slaughtering thousands to save one is moral insanity.
Death is sown throughout the world so that the neuro-surgeon can have even more than the everything he has now. Acquiring resources from one person means having to take resources from the "poet's starving children". Wanting what you do not need is moral inanity.
The neurosurgeon, rather than a symbol of wealth, may be operating on the Schizoid Man, screaming for more drugs, more instruments, to turn the Man into an even more dangerous monster.
The neurosurgeon, rather than a symbol of wealth, may be operating on the Schizoid Man, screaming for more drugs, more instruments, to turn the Man into an even more dangerous monster.
Fantastic observation Dylan!
Fantastic observation Dylan!
I made an alternate interpretation of the surgeon as the soldier in a later posting. The soldier performs lobotomies with his bullets. Given the ethically questionable psychological and scientific experiments by the government in that era, I have to wonder if you are not absolutely correct.
I made an alternate interpretation of the surgeon as the soldier in a later posting. The soldier performs lobotomies with his bullets. Given the ethically questionable psychological and scientific experiments by the government in that era, I have to wonder if you are not absolutely correct.