The Approaching Curve thematically touches upon the fact of not witnessing somebody's suffering. The chorus contains a direct, perhaps ironic, appeal to anyone who witnesses such suffering - to just ignore it and walk on by. almost every line describes a different one). A lot of different types of suffering stem from this condition (heartbreak, feelings of meaninglessness, not learning on your own mistakes, etc. My, perhaps a bit outlandish, theory on the song is that it's the conversation between a father and a son, who is witnessing his father's suffering, and the father not wanting to burden his son with his immense suffering stemming from abandoning all he has ever loved (via becoming a refugee).ĭrones seems to touch upon many topics, all ultimately related to the feeling of being little more than a drone in this. But the message of 'Don't hold me up now / I can stand my own ground' seems to show a pretty strong indication of rejecting (perhaps dishonest?) help offered to you during your suffering, of wanting to figure stuff on your own. I've honestly never fully figured out what Prayer Of The Refugee is fully about. Under The Knife features two sufferers, with the one being the 'narrator' of the song rejecting his suffering and wanting to cope with it and move past it - while witnessing his counterpart being reluctant to do the same (as in the line I don't want to feel the things that you do, for example)

Its message calls for rebellion against the status quo - with hope in your hand, and a brick in your hand. This person then becomes a 'shoulder to lean on' for him - a witness to his suffering.īricks is somewhat of an anthem for all of those who witness suffering caused by misused authority. The Sufferer in this song is actively suicidal and reaches out to someone he's abandoned/left a considerable time ago (possible due to his mental state). Very similar to Injection, albeit more extreme. In injection, it's clear that the sufferer is at the forefront of the song - with the witness being the person he's talking to, begging them for help, for guidance and for support. The suffering is pushed even further by the feeling of helplessness expressed in the bridge ( Save us from what we've become tonight.) He's witnessing the destruction of Earth's environment and the inaction of the general populace towards it (who are also witnesses of said destruction - and will also suffer from it). Here, the Sufferer and the Witness are the same person. But whatever - here's what I've noticed about each song: not sure if this is common knowledge, because it seems kind of obvious in retrospect. So I was listening to TS&TW the other day and realized the album's overarching theme is actually highlighted in its title.

Injection the sufferer and the witness