Song Meaning
The lyrics immediately confront the listener with a stark rejection of nostalgia, questioning why the past should be revered. The opening lines, "Why make the past your sacred cow? / I guess you've changed, you've changed and how," set a tone of blunt dismissal. This isn't a gentle reflection; it's a forceful argument against clinging to former ideals or states of being, suggesting that such adherence is ultimately futile and perhaps even foolish.
The central tension arises from the contrast between a perceived stagnant past and a dynamic, perhaps harsh, present. Images like "Fruits gone rotten on the bough" and the idea of a "counterfeit plough" suggest decay and inauthenticity in what was once perhaps fruitful or genuine. The repeated phrase "That was then but this is now" acts as a constant refrain, hammering home the irreversible shift and the irrelevance of past conditions to the current reality. It implies a need to acknowledge and deal with the present, however unpleasant.
The writing employs a jarring juxtaposition of the mundane with the extreme. The seemingly innocuous "apple crumble" sits alongside "More sacrifices than an Aztec priest," creating a disorienting effect that highlights a disconnect between superficial comfort and underlying hardship or drastic change. The inclusion of disparate geopolitical references like "Russians should be baby-sitted / Americans resisted" further fragments any coherent narrative, suggesting a world in flux where established orders or expectations no longer apply.
Ultimately, the effectiveness of these lyrics lies in their abrasive directness and the unsettling collage of imagery. The insistent repetition of the core phrase forces the listener to confront the passage of time and the inevitability of change, while the unexpected pairings of ideas create a sense of unease and disorientation. It’s a lyrical landscape that refuses easy answers, demanding instead an acknowledgment of present realities, however complex or uncomfortable they may be.
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