searching for a former clarity

It has been played live

Any video?

I just realized how much this sounds like "Without Mythologies" by The Weakerthans.

I was gonna say 'Are you fucking high?', but I see where you're coming from.

I just read this real nice interpretation. It's how I felt about the song but couldn't put it into words:

"'Will everyone,
you ever meet or love,
be just a realationship based,
on a false presumption.
Despite everyone,
you ever meet or ever love.
In the end,
will you be all alone?'

This man is having a hard time revealing his homosexaulity to anyone he cares about, and worries that since they do no know who he truely is, only the person he pretends to be is their friend, not the true person he is. He worries that if this is true, he will die without any true friends, and no one will truely care about who he really is, only who he pretended to be. "

I don't necessarily agree with the homosexuality part, but I definitely agree with there being a secret side to the protagonist, and them worrying about nobody understanding his true side.

I don't think the homosexuality is that much of a stretch considering the reference to cross-dressing. Then there's also this

Quote :

I'd prefer to leave the actual meaning of the line open to interpretation, but I will say that had I been born a girl my mother has told me she would have named me Laura. Are the lyrics from "Searching" and "The Ocean" related? Yes. In fact the lyrics to the song "Disco Before the Breakdown" are also related to these two songs.

http://www.againstmeforum.com/t1128-against-me-answer-your-questions

Disco can definitely be interpreted to be about homosexuality; though the lyrics are vague enough that they can be applied to any kind of love that's seen as taboo. Great song. Anyway, thanks for sharing.

My interpretation, which was reinforced by an interview Tom did with Brendan Kelly for JBTV, is that the cross-dressing aspect has been way overblown and doesn't have a strong connection to the overall theme of the song. In that interview, Tom said that the real concept behind SFAFC was looking at the world and the music industry as if he was dying, and that in order to write the record, he had actually convinced himself that he was dying. This song is about him dying, it's that simple. Not from any specific ailment. He emphasizes that it was "for no particular reason" that he convinced himself he was going to die.

The interpretation that makes most sense to me is that it's about giving into the music industry, with the metaphor of dying of aids.

dannyglover wrote:

My interpretation, which was reinforced by an interview Tom did with Brendan Kelly for JBTV, is that the cross-dressing aspect has been way overblown and doesn't have a strong connection to the overall theme of the song. In that interview, Tom said that the real concept behind SFAFC was looking at the world and the music industry as if he was dying, and that in order to write the record, he had actually convinced himself that he was dying. This song is about him dying, it's that simple. Not from any specific ailment. He emphasizes that it was "for no particular reason" that he convinced himself he was going to die.

I like this because while so much can be read into the song, at the end of the day it's as simple as it could be. The cross-dressing thing isn't that important.

Tom tweeted "Both the song and the album are about HIV".


There we go!

i did my own analysis of the track for a uni assignment
it references gender issues in punk and hardcore as well
http://heyrobknaggs.wordpress.com/

would appreciate feedback etc

(utmost care has been made in terms of correct pronouns, in the analysis, i was using "he" as laura was still suffering as a male)

I like the heartbeat thing, I thought it was a neat observation

I say the song has to do with HIV maybe but check out this song on the same cd Unprotected Sex With Multiple Partners.

But thecross dressing part is interesting in the song. Sence Laura is transgendered we all now wonder if the cross dressing line means anything big. It may it may not!

Do you think the former clarity refers to situations like Laura watching TV as a kid and thinking "That's me" when she saw Madonna? We know now that the band name is a nod to the whole gender thing.

[quote="Aaron"]Do you think the former clarity refers to situations like Laura watching TV as a kid and thinking "That's me" when she saw Madonna? We know now that the band name is a nod to the whole gender thing.[/quote

Its hard to say. But its amazaig that her Transexual and gender identity as to with the name of Against me.

i'm sorry, but i seriously doubt this is about freddie mercury you weirdos. if it is about something other than the transgender issues, it's most likely about a friend of the band who died in january 2005 of cancer.