5 & 20 Schoolgirls

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a surreal, almost allegorical picture of innocence lost and the absurdity of societal control. Initially, "five and twenty schoolgirls lost in the fog" suggests a vulnerable group, easily manipulated or misunderstood, with external forces eager to "put them in the bag." Yet, they possess a hidden resilience, "hiding in a log," a detail that hints at a natural, untamed spirit resisting capture. The central tension emerges from the contrast between passive waiting and the active, often destructive, forces surrounding them. The "big brass clock going tick-tick-tock" and the "big black bomb, it goes boom" represent the relentless march of time and the looming threat of violence or industry. These powerful entities are also depicted as waiting, suggesting a cyclical, perhaps futile, existence driven by external pressures rather than internal purpose. The craft here is in the juxtaposition of disparate images and the disorienting shifts in perspective. The "fathers of industry and war" with their "canes and Bibles" embody a hypocritical authority that claims to know what's best, while the "spacemen landed on the Moon" represent a futile conquest that ends in confusion. The repeated "waiting, waiting" chorus acts as a hypnotic refrain, underscoring a sense of stasis and anticipation across these varied scenarios. This lyrical tapestry is effective because it creates a feeling of unease and critical observation without explicit condemnation. The narrator's eventual claim, "it belongs to me and you," and the introduction of a "great big pipe we can smoke all night," shifts the focus to a communal, perhaps escapist, form of agency. It suggests that true understanding or liberation might lie in shared experience and a detachment from the absurd waiting games of the world.