Good Place to Start

Song Meaning

These lyrics paint a vivid picture of a world teetering on the edge, filled with both external threats and internal overload. The narrator observes a "guy with a gun" whose "pride is swollen with inflammation" alongside a society where "weed we can't smoke" contrasts with abundant "prescriptions." It's a snapshot of modern anxiety. The central tension here lies in the struggle to process an overwhelming reality. The narrator's "temple can't take all this information," suggesting a mind pushed to its limits. This feeling of being inundated by societal chaos and personal confusion—"moments I'm involved / And there's moments I can't solve"—drives the repeated call to action in the chorus. The craft truly shines in how the lyrics juxtapose grand, almost apocalyptic observations with a profoundly personal, almost resigned solution. The bridge's sharp questions, "Whose rules are we breaking down? / Who rules the world now, now?" briefly challenge the status quo before the chorus returns, offering a simple, almost defiant mantra: "Let's get high, high / Let's love where we've been / And love where we are." This isn't a grand solution, but a radical redefinition of what a "good place to start" might look like. Ultimately, these lyrics are effective because they capture a pervasive feeling of helplessness in the face of a chaotic world, offering a form of self-acceptance and present-moment living as a primary coping mechanism. The subtle shift in the final chorus from loving "where we've been" to loving "who we've been" suggests a deeper, more personal embrace of identity, making the act of getting "high" less about pure escapism and more about finding peace within oneself amidst the storm.