Count Us In

Song Meaning

Robert Pollard's "Count Us In" feels like a fragmented dispatch from the cultural trenches, a wry observation on modern existence. The opening lines, "We are living, badly breathing / In a time of fine exhibits," immediately set a tone of weary participation. There's a sense of being present in a world obsessed with appearances ("fine exhibits") while simultaneously struggling for basic sustenance ("badly breathing"). The "finger in a glass of water" image suggests a desperate, almost absurd, search for relief or meaning in a world that feels increasingly parched. The song's middle section dives deeper into this cultural critique. The lines "Losing words for progress / Gaze upon your savior / Your plastic deals and silver walls" hint at a society that has sacrificed authentic expression for hollow advancements. The "savior" figure, juxtaposed with "plastic deals and silver walls," suggests a worship of superficiality and material gain. It's a world where genuine connection is replaced by transactional relationships and manufactured realities. The final verses take a surreal turn with the image of "driving an invisible woman / Home from the grave." This could be interpreted as a metaphor for unresolved past traumas or regrets haunting the present. The inability to "hit her" or "touch her" implies a powerlessness to confront these issues directly. The repetition of "We are living" at the end, despite the preceding imagery of struggle and disillusionment, offers a glimmer of resilience, a stubborn refusal to succumb to the weight of it all. It's a defiant, if somewhat weary, affirmation of existence in the face of overwhelming absurdity.