I believe "Us And Them" isn't so much about war specifically as it is about conflict and its cost to humanity. As we'll see, it's a natural follow-up to "Money", exploring the consequences of our insatiable thirst for MORE.

I believe "Us And Them" isn't so much about war specifically as it is about conflict and its cost to humanity. As we'll see, it's a natural follow-up to "Money", exploring the consequences of our insatiable thirst for MORE.

Verse 1: Speaking directly to a supposed enemy, the narrator explains that although they are on opposing sides of an unspecified conflict, they are both ordinary people with hopes, dreams, loved ones, etc, who but for the circumstances would have no reason to be hostile to each other. In the context of a war, these could be two soldiers who have been pushed into battle by their political and military leaders, who in a different circumstance could have been friends.

Refrain 1: The leaders send the troops off to slaughter each other while safely tucked out of harm's way on the sidelines, dispassionately observing the changing borders and fronts as if analyzing a football game.

Verse 2: The arbitrary and meaningless symbols we use to identify in- and out-groups, who's good and who's evil, who to pledge allegiance to and who to destroy. While each side may temporarily get the upper hand in turn, ultimately nothing really gets solved and the greater conflict may go on and on indefinitely, because in the end neither side is really right and the conflict is futile. Black might as well be blue... what's the difference and who cares?

Refrain 2: Meaningless propaganda meant to rally the troops around the flag so to speak, but this bloodless "battle of words" leads naturally to the very bloody battle of real life war, as epitomized by the military recruiter who invites the narrator to join up and find belonging, meaning, and purpose where, as stated previously, there isn't any.

Spoken interlude: this in my opinion is a stroke of genius as it offers a genuine, unscripted example of a (relatively minor) real-life conflict as related by an "ordinary man" participant. In this case it's the band's roadie Roger The Hat and the incident is a recent physical scuffle he'd had with another man. We know nothing about the disagreement, but whatever it was, although it could have escalated, Roger demonstrated admirable restraint by only hitting the guy once, just to give him the hint. He doesn't seem to have any ill will and just wanted the guy to leave him alone. The most important line here, and perhaps in the whole song, is his parting rhetorical question: "I mean, good manners don't cost nothing, do they, eh?" It's a quietly profound insight: what's holding us back from treating each other with kindness instead of violence?

Verse 3: We get our answer. It's inequality and greed. People with less want what the people with more have. People with more want even more than that and so take from the people with less. Life is a zero-sum game. For someone to win, someone else must lose. The losers at best end up "down and out", unable to participate in society, old, forgotten, and only a few dollars away from starving to death. There a lot more losers in life than we care to admit.

Refrain 3: The "winners" (ironic quotes intended, as on some level they too are likely being exploited by even more powerful people) couldn't care less about their fellow man's plight, they're too busy building and protecting their own wealth and power to part with "the price of tea and a slice" as they go about their day, convinced that they're the 'good guys" of the world.

The old man died. End of song.

But the truth is, good manners really don't cost anything. I think the song's message is essentially that conflict is destructive, futile and unnecessary, and so much misery could be avoided if we could only learn to put aside our petty differences, treat each other with kindness and, as the previous song put it, "share it fairly".

One detail I wanted to mention is the noticeably wistful feel of Rick Wright's piano solo underlying Roger The Hat's monologue, as if it were a kind of musical "can't we all get along?" statement. Really sublime.

King's X songs in their early albums were often related to their Christian faith, though they did not identify as "Christian Rock." Many of these songs refer to aspects of their faith without direct references to Jesus/God. This is one of those songs. Even the strongest faith sometimes experiences moments where we feel as though we are having trouble accessing God, moments bordering on doubt. The Burning Down is about those times when we must struggle to maintain our faith. It beautifully portrays our deep desire to believe even when we are unable or unwilling to see evidence of God...

King's X songs in their early albums were often related to their Christian faith, though they did not identify as "Christian Rock." Many of these songs refer to aspects of their faith without direct references to Jesus/God. This is one of those songs. Even the strongest faith sometimes experiences moments where we feel as though we are having trouble accessing God, moments bordering on doubt. The Burning Down is about those times when we must struggle to maintain our faith. It beautifully portrays our deep desire to believe even when we are unable or unwilling to see evidence of God in our lives. "I won't put up a fight, where are you tonight" is a plea for God to reveal evidence of his presence in our lives and reinforce or restore our faith. Wonderful song!

I actually think this song has less to do with dodgy parental relationships and is more of a general criticism of American society.

I actually think this song has less to do with dodgy parental relationships and is more of a general criticism of American society.

"Peel off all those eyes, Crawl into the dark, You've poisoned all of your children, to camouflage your scars"

"Peel off all those eyes, Crawl into the dark, You've poisoned all of your children, to camouflage your scars"

I think this refers to the way that, rather than acknowledging the complexities of human nature, society has constructed a simplistic framework based on ideas of "good" and "evil". Children are indoctrinated from a young age (poisoned), and it's hoped that religious conviction will keep them in the dark and camouflage all the hypocrisies - the fact that mainstream culture spends a great deal of time revelling in things that are supposedly "sinful" and forbidden, and that very few people actually practice what they preach, since much of it is fundamentally contrary to human nature. Still, the kids won't notice, will they?

Of course Warner was a perceptive kid, and he totally picked up on the contradictions, which left him feeling confused and "othered". The "boy that you loved", once an obedient disciple, opened his eyes (whilst other people peeled theirs off) and he couldn't ignore the hypocrisy he witnessed. Due to his perceptive and curious mind he couldn't force himself to conform as other people do so blindly and unquestioningly: "I have it all and I have no choice but to".

He's "so tangled in his sins that [he] cannot escape" because these so-called "sins" are just realities of human nature and thus, he acknowledges, part of his identity. Maybe people shouldn't be trying (and usually failing) to "escape" them anyway. But because society is set on its course, Manson is treated as an outsider merely for posing questions and making valid criticisms. Well, he'll "make everyone pay and you will see".

He might have failed on "making them see" (they're a stubborn lot), but he has certainly made them pay to an extent: through his lyrics he holds up a mirror to American society to reflect the ugly bits. He throws in all the blasphemies, curses and "dark" imagery, using the shock factor as a tool to wreak hysteria, thus becoming "the man that you fear". The irony is that shock is a social construct - people are only shocked by this stuff because they've been drinking the kool-aid all their lives (shock is all in your head). Meanwhile, predictably, the real meaning is lost on the mainstream - while they're busy being horrified, Manson's valid criticisms go straight over their pretty, devout, conformist heads.

Musically, I'm don't rate the band particularly highly. But lyrically, intellectually, in terms of creative delivery, I have total respect for Manson. By encouraging a few generations of kids to think a little more independently he's done the world a great service.