Close Your Eyes & Think of England

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a picture of a nation or group determined to impose its will, framing it as a righteous cleansing. There's a relentless march forward, described with phrases like "winnowing away" and "step by step," aimed at eradicating a perceived 'heathen' influence. This aggressive posture is underscored by the repeated command to "close your eyes and think of England," a directive that seems to mask a more unsettling reality behind a veneer of patriotic duty. The imagery of a "boat afloat on the ocean" initially suggests a journey, but the accompanying "chains of state a-jingling" hints at a more oppressive, perhaps colonial, undertone. The central tension arises from the juxtaposition of this outward-facing, almost belligerent, progress with an internal, almost willful, blindness. The repeated instruction to "close your eyes" becomes a motif for ignoring the consequences or the moral ambiguity of their actions. The lyrics suggest a deliberate turning away from the "waves that sully the horizon" and the implications of "intermingling," favoring instead a nationalistic narrative. This creates a disquieting disconnect between the proclaimed ideals and the implied actions. The most striking craft element is the subversion of the initial patriotic rallying cry. The final chorus dramatically shifts the mood as the "boat afloat all alone on the ocean is sinking." The "coastguard have been drinking" and "nobody had an inkling" reveals the catastrophic failure born from collective inaction and the very blindness the song initially advocated. This twist transforms the directive to "close your eyes" from a call to patriotic focus into the cause of impending doom, highlighting a profound irony. Ultimately, these lyrics are effective because they expose the dangerous allure of blind nationalism and the potential for self-deception. The shift from confident pronouncements of progress to the chilling image of a sinking vessel, brought about by the very act of "closing eyes," serves as a stark warning. The narrator appears to acknowledge this failure in the bridge, musing about a time when "the scapegoat was always someone new," suggesting a current crisis where blame is harder to assign because everyone was complicit in looking away.