An Incredible State of Affairs

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a picture of pervasive, frustrating chaos. The narrator repeatedly finds themselves in an "incredible state of affairs," a phrase that drips with weary sarcasm. It's a world where people actively "tempt their fate not to win" and "hide from their face what they don't understand," suggesting a collective, self-destructive ignorance. This isn't just a bad day; it's a recurring, almost institutionalized dysfunction. The central tension arises from the narrator's inability to escape this environment and its corrosive effect. They feel unable to "relax my mind" as others "build a legend that does them no good." There's a sense of being overwhelmed, watching others "bring it down like I knew they would." This passive observation, however, is deeply unsettling, as the narrator admits, "I know that the feeling is wrong, but I can see that it's changing my song" and later, "changing my soul." The most striking aspect is the cyclical, almost mantra-like repetition of "What a very incredible state of affairs." This refrain isn't just a statement; it's an incantation of despair, emphasizing the inescapable nature of the situation. The imagery of "twenty thieves in the marketplace" and "weepers finding out far too late" adds to the sense of a world populated by the foolish and the doomed. The shift to "back to Atlantis and Mu" and "me and it's you" hints at a desire for escape or a retreat into a more primal, perhaps mythical, connection, but it's framed by the overwhelming negativity. Ultimately, these lyrics resonate because they capture a feeling of being trapped in a world that makes little sense, where collective action seems geared towards failure. The narrator's growing internal change, their soul being altered by this external madness, is the most potent emotional hook. It's the quiet dread of realizing that the surrounding absurdity is not just an external problem, but something that is fundamentally reshaping the observer.