The song title and lyric revolve around the homonyms guys and guise. The political guys are full of political guise. Yet, in modern society the guise, lies and deception pervade all areas of life. Politics, commerce, economics, religion, and social protocol are all rife with deception and manipulation.
In a world in which accuracy and transparency are relatively rare occurrences and exploitation, deception and a lack of candor dominate it is rather fool hearty to take a firm stance on a specific issue or person. After all who really knows what is actually going on and what is either being play acted or colored for various agendas.
It is for this reason that the singer says that he does not hate anymore, or does not love anymore. How wise is it for someone to be passionate and devoted to something which is a fiction or highly misrepresented? In a mad farce of deception and misrepresentation who is the victim, the hero, the person to trust and admire?
Politicians, economists, business, the media, and even friends often tailor and color what they say with a desired outcome in mind. More often than not the message gets altered by the attaining of one outcome or the avoidance of another.
Yet, in reality the choice isn't between being brutally honest or deceptive. One is entirely capable of being honest while taking care to say things in a humane and respectful manner. The truth is not something that can only be said with a specific set of words, and there is a difference from being articulate and kind and a coward who alters the substance of what they are saying as an act of convenience. or for personal gain.
The degree of deception inherent in modern society not only creates divisions and magnifies human suffering, but makes it increasingly difficult for individuals to feel loved and to be loving individuals in any consistent manner.
When innocent lives are shattered to pieces
Oh, I don’t love anyone any more
Oh, I don’t hate anyone any more
A loss of honesty makes everything into a possible hoax. Our ability to know who we are, how to act and who to support and love is greatly hampered when we live in a society that is reluctant to be honest or sees being honest as an obstacle to personal and social success.
lyrics
Political Guys 9/17/92
Lost in the fire of yesterdays is the passion which powers reason
Now we smile at everything, treading light avoiding tension
Saying nothing silence is but a tool
Making friendships with bonds that have no clue
How long can we live a lie?
Shaking hands and hugging bodies
Acting like we’re close
Not knowing anything about anybody
Incorrigible lies, lie behind those eyes not blinking
Despicable smiles, convicting you while they’re gleaming
Searching long to find someone willing to drop their mask
That’s all I ask
Locked on the screen I see a smile
Quite like the one’s I see around me
Every word is a lithograph
Every pause so well acted
No one’s thinking for reporters explain it to you
The smile keeps talking never missing a cue
It’s hard to swim across the river of contradictions
It’s hard to find a smile which speaks with some distinction
Political guys, decisive roads to indecision
Political guise, leave no trails of comprehension
Political guys, buy our freedom through corruption
Political guise, use our boys for more extortion
When innocent lives are shattered to pieces
Oh, I don’t love anyone any more
Oh, I don’t hate anyone any more
credits
from Opportunity Lost,
released January 16, 2014
Jim Guido Vocals, sax, keyboards, guitar
Drums Ryan Thompson
An earthy yet somewhat chilly record about life, death, and reconnection, the latest from LOMA experiments with a turn towards the gloomy. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 16, 2024
"Don’t Shy Away" maintains the core sound of the dream pop band's debut, with Emily Cross’s haunted vocals hovering throughout understated instrumental landscapes Bandcamp Album of the Day Oct 27, 2020
Marvelously languid soul and jazz intermingle on these low-lit songs from Sebastian Roca, with feather-light guitars and shuffling drums. Bandcamp New & Notable May 9, 2020
