English III 1/24: "The Suburbs" by Arcade Fire

This song is one that I think we can all relate to, at least in part. We are living in a world now that is increasingly divided and increasingly hard to predict. The lyrics to this song reflect a certain paranoia and longing for an older, simpler world. What do you think is meant by the line "move your feet from hot pavement and into the grass"? If I told you that line were a metaphor for how we can fix our biggest problems... how would you explain that? What does that line suggest to us?

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In the suburbs I-

I learned to drive

And you told me we'd never survive...

Grab your mother's keys we're leavin'

You always seemed so sure

That one day we'd be fighting

A suburban war

your part of town against mine

I saw you standing on the opposite shore

But by the time the first bombs fell

We were already bored

We were already, already bored

Sometimes I can't believe it

I'm movin' past the feeling

Sometimes I can't believe it

I'm movin' past the feeling again

Kids wanna be so hard

But in my dreams we're still screamin' and runnin' through the yard

And all of the walls that they built in the seventies finally fall

And all of the houses they built in the seventies finally fall

Meant nothin' at all

Meant nothin' at all

It meant nothin

Sometimes I can't believe it

I'm movin' past the feeling

Sometimes I can't believe it

I'm movin' past the feeling and into the night

So can you understand?

Why I want a daughter while I'm still young

I wanna hold her hand

And show her some beauty

Before this damage is done

But if it's too much to ask, it's too much to ask

Then send me a son

Under the overpass

In the parking lot we're still waiting

It's already passed

So move your feet from hot pavement and into the grass

Cause it's already passed

It's already, already passed!

Sometimes I can't believe it

I'm movin' past the feeling

Sometimes I can't believe it

I'm movin' past the feeling again

I'm movin' past the feeling

I'm movin' past the feeling

In my dreams we're still screamin'

We're still screamin'

We're still screamin'