Okay, this interpretation may seem a bit odd, but I absolutely cannot hear this song without thinking of the Berlin Wall and the German Reunification. Hear me out here:
First you've got references to the vehicle industry ("broken car" "aeroplanes" "ships that drink the sea") which Germany was/is famous for.
Second, the song sets a seemingly calm, but melancholy and restless scene that could be referencing a post-war Germany with lines like "old muffler rumbles like an old fighter plane", "From a life of tests where something's always at stake", and "What about soldier battle scars?". Note that these lines happen earlier in the song (closer to WW2 than the fall of the Wall)
Third, lyrics such as "It's school, then work and then life that just sharpens the blade", In search of some rest, in search of a break from a life of tests where something's always at stake", and "I think about time for fun, I think about time for play the I think about being done, with no resume" illustrate a clear juxtaposition between work and play (analogous with East and West Germany or Communism and Capitalism, respectively).
Fourth, the line "If I was right on that night, that a future was made" could definitely be taken to mean the initial divide between the country and "What about when buildings fall? What about that midnight phone call?" could reference its fall.
Like I said, maybe a stretch, but the song did only come out 15 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and 15 years is a pretty significant anniversary.
Okay, this interpretation may seem a bit odd, but I absolutely cannot hear this song without thinking of the Berlin Wall and the German Reunification. Hear me out here:
First you've got references to the vehicle industry ("broken car" "aeroplanes" "ships that drink the sea") which Germany was/is famous for.
Second, the song sets a seemingly calm, but melancholy and restless scene that could be referencing a post-war Germany with lines like "old muffler rumbles like an old fighter plane", "From a life of tests where something's always at stake", and "What about soldier battle scars?". Note that these lines happen earlier in the song (closer to WW2 than the fall of the Wall)
Third, lyrics such as "It's school, then work and then life that just sharpens the blade", In search of some rest, in search of a break from a life of tests where something's always at stake", and "I think about time for fun, I think about time for play the I think about being done, with no resume" illustrate a clear juxtaposition between work and play (analogous with East and West Germany or Communism and Capitalism, respectively).
Fourth, the line "If I was right on that night, that a future was made" could definitely be taken to mean the initial divide between the country and "What about when buildings fall? What about that midnight phone call?" could reference its fall.
Like I said, maybe a stretch, but the song did only come out 15 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and 15 years is a pretty significant anniversary.