Individual

Song details

Bad Religion original
Yes
First released
1994
First release
Stranger Than Fiction (album)
Songwriter
Greg Graffin

Lyrics

Individual

Individuals run for cover, For the multitudes of thoughtless clones Have reached a critical mass. (Have reached a critical mass) Individuals hide in fear, under cover, Sheltered by the wafer thin veil of intelligence. (Thin veil of intelligence) Individuals, nowhere to be seen... Urbana is oozing like a bloated carcass With maggots cooking in the desert heat, (Cooking in the desert heat) Oozing, with progeny writhing and desperate For input from someone more determined. (Someone more determined) Congregating in invisible circles, Half apart and half a part, All too aware of the insignificance, Pushing on with soul and heart. Individuals don't pray for forgiveness, When pinned up against the wall under siege of persecution, (Under siege of persecution) Individuals command exception, And accept dichotomy, Maybe you can't choose anymore. (Maybe you can't choose anymore) Procreation without gain or purpose, Languid wills and torped minds, Catapulted ever faster By the arrow of time... You take yours and I'll keep mine! Individuals...

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#57

57th most featured song

11documented shows
#170

170th most played song

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Song Interpretations

What do you think this song is about? Share your interpretation and explain your reasoning.

7

PriesterseminarJun 18, 2019

Arrow of Time The arrow of time, or time's arrow is the concept positing the "one-way direction" or "asymmetry" of time. It was developed in 1927 by the British astronomer Arthur Eddington, and is an unsolved general physics question. This direction, according to Eddington, could be determined by studying the organization of atoms, molecules, and bodies, and might be drawn upon a four-dimensional relativistic map of…

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Arrow of Time

The arrow of time, or time's arrow is the concept positing the "one-way direction" or "asymmetry" of time. It was developed in 1927 by the British astronomer Arthur Eddington, and is an unsolved general physics question. This direction, according to Eddington, could be determined by studying the organization of atoms, molecules, and bodies, and might be drawn upon a four-dimensional relativistic map of the world ("a solid block of paper").[1]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_of_time
legacy memberMar 12, 2006 · edited Date unknown

You are an Individual, just like everybody else!!! I think the lines speak quite clearly here. There are more individuals out there, than you can percive. If you dig down a little bit, you'll be surprised at how many they are. My experience with people from all over the world so far has been that most of them are quite thoughtful, and percive the world with a critical view. But because noone is doing anything, they t…

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You are an Individual, just like everybody else!!! I think the lines speak quite clearly here. There are more individuals out there, than you can percive. If you dig down a little bit, you'll be surprised at how many they are. My experience with people from all over the world so far has been that most of them are quite thoughtful, and percive the world with a critical view. But because noone is doing anything, they think nothing can be done and keep quiet. They need someone determined to show them the way, and they will willingly follow along .... So, there's hope for all of us yet, we just have to wait for another Jesus :P
legacy memberNov 6, 2005 · edited Date unknown

I believe the following stanza is crucial to understading Greg's intentions: urbana is oozing like a bloated carcass with maggots cooking in the desert heat oozing, with progeny writhing and desperate for input from someone more determined This is apocalyptic language. Greg warns: we are approaching the edge of the abyss. Unless we make radical changes, and soon...well, you can imagine the chaos and destruction wh…

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I believe the following stanza is crucial to understading Greg's intentions:
urbana is oozing like a bloated carcass
with maggots cooking in the desert heat
oozing, with progeny writhing and desperate
for input from someone more determined
This is apocalyptic language. Greg warns: we are approaching the edge of the abyss. Unless we make radical changes, and soon...well, you can imagine the chaos and destruction which will ensue.
Due to extreme free-market ideology, leading to neglect of basic human rights and the "privatization" (theft) of what we all need to survive, our cities are becoming concentration camps.
Only the affluent can survive. The rest of us are stuck here in "urbana", waiting to die.
This is no accident.
The wealthy elites feel threatened by the "surplus population", i.e. the poor masses. They are also aware that, soon, ex-members of the disappearing middle class will become yet another threat: but in greater numbers.
For the moment, the super-wealthy feel safe in their exclusive suburban gated communities with their alarm systems and security staff. But they can predict--as any of us can--that the ranks of the homeless and hungry are growing; this trend is accelerating.
They are not naive. They know their wealth was created by stealing (labor, money, natural resources) from everyone else. For hundreds of years, they have been secretly fighting a bitter, brutal class war against...us.
Usually they feel invulnerable. But they cannot complete banish from their minds their worry over the slight possibility of mass revolt -- which likely would be accompanied by direct action aimed at redistribution of wealth.
Nothing frightens them more. If you are wealthy and powerful, nothing is more important than maintaining the status quo.
The true "individual" is atomized, isolated and feels helpless.
This, too, is no accident. "Every man for himself" is the ethic of capitalism. This shameful lie--that compassion is contrary to human nature--has been drilled into our heads endlessly.
Corporate propaganda disguised as educational films, all news media, and television's endless march of advertisements AND "entertainment" all reinforce the conventional wisdom: you're on your own. People cannot band together for mutual assistance.
To survive, we must unlearn the propaganda.
We must realize: we believe we are alone only because our society has been carefully structured to instill this misconception. Into everyone's mind, from birth onward.
Organize!
legacy memberJul 11, 2004 · edited Date unknown

I dont think Greg is speaking to individuals as people that dress different or buy independent music or fill their head with trivia so they can be pretentious. I think he is talking to individuals who may be unaware that they are a class that can unite and change. People who realized that we are being oppressed by the wealthy into thinking our only ties can be music, other media and fashion, thinking they may be th…

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I dont think Greg is speaking to individuals as people that dress different or buy independent music or fill their head with trivia so they can be pretentious. I think he is talking to individuals who may be unaware that they are a class that can unite and change. People who realized that we are being oppressed by the wealthy into thinking our only ties can be music, other media and fashion, thinking they may be the only ones in a sea of clones that realize this but are overwhelmed that they cannot do anything to change it on their own (congregating in invisible circles, half apart and half apart). Also there are lines people that have not realized this and wait for the next command (oozing, with progeny writhing and desperate for input from someone more determined). He's not really saying become an individual, but shake frivolous ties and unite to make something better kind of like when Marx spoke out to the proletariats that were unaware of their power to unite and change.
legacy memberJul 11, 2004 · edited Date unknown

"Correction: 'not too many intelligent people ... smoke cigarettes.' You'll find that many do, its just that although they are intelligent enough to know better they are hooked on them and can't get off (only a smoker will understand the full meaning of this dilemma - they are very addictive). Perhaps some smokers are more intelligent than they would be if they didn't, because the smoking habit generally goes hand in…

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"Correction: 'not too many intelligent people ... smoke cigarettes.' You'll find that many do, its just that although they are intelligent enough to know better they are hooked on them and can't get off (only a smoker will understand the full meaning of this dilemma - they are very addictive). Perhaps some smokers are more intelligent than they would be if they didn't, because the smoking habit generally goes hand in hand with long periods of thinking and reflection, complemented by intellectual bursts caused by the constant supply of dopamine to their stem cell receptors in their brains. Einstein smoked, even if he changed from cigarettes to smoking the pipe in his later years.
legacy memberJul 11, 2004 · edited Date unknown

Conformists are waiting for guidance to show them the error of their way? There was this anthropology book published called 'On Human Nature' or something broad like that with a main idea that racism is biologically inherent because people have a tendency to identify themselves in context of a larger tribe. I wouldn't necessarily agree with this hypothesis, but I think there is a natural tendency to want to define y…

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Conformists are waiting for guidance to show them the error of their way? There was this anthropology book published called 'On Human Nature' or something broad like that with a main idea that racism is biologically inherent because people have a tendency to identify themselves in context of a larger tribe. I wouldn't necessarily agree with this hypothesis, but I think there is a natural tendency to want to define your own being. In terms of evolutionary purpose, it might well have stemmed from an adaptation evolved for social functioning. Anyway, this 'Manichean self-definition' as Aldous Huxley put it, is bound to limit the potential range of thought. To some extent this is unavoidable. But the full potential of external reality you experience is much greater then anyway you can define yourself in analytical terms. Hence, it is extremely rare to find a true individual, that is someone who doesn't seek to define themselves in some limited and convoluted! way. I don't mean definition in relation to society, definition in relation to how you perceive yourself. I think for some people, there is an extreme discontentment that comes from not being able to produce a suitable definition of yourself, and it is these people who are most likely driven to be 'individuals,' because any 'conclusion' they arrive at leads them to more doubt whether they like it or not.
legacy memberJul 11, 2004 · edited Date unknown

I think he's being pretty straight forward and is not showing sarcasm. He's basically saying we've lost our identity due to this inner striving we have to be just like everybody else. The only thing that combats this urge is intelligence. Not too many intelligent people wear Abercrombie and Fitch, or smoke cigarettes. I think he also points out that deep down, conformists know what they're doing isn't right but they…

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I think he's being pretty straight forward and is not showing sarcasm. He's basically saying we've lost our identity due to this inner striving we have to be just like everybody else. The only thing that combats this urge is intelligence. Not too many intelligent people wear Abercrombie and Fitch, or smoke cigarettes. I think he also points out that deep down, conformists know what they're doing isn't right but they need more guidance in their lives, and are just waiting for it (desperate for input from someone more determined). I think the line 'procreation without gain or purpose' probably refers to casual sex and people getting pregnant too young and too soon, basically unwanted babies. Torpid minds refers to how people never even stop to think about consequences of their actions.