This They Might be Giants song is off their John Henry album. Lyrics courtesy of TMBW:
In my prison cell I think these words
I was careless
I can see that now
I must be silent
Must contain my secret smile
I want to tell you
You my mirror
You my iron barsWhen I made a shadow on my window shade
They called the police and testified
But they’re like the people chained up in the cave
In the allegory of the people in the cave by the Greek guyNo one understands
No one knows my plan
Why the dancing, shouting
Why the shrieks of pain
The lovely music
Why the smell of burning autumn leaves
I was always fascinated by the reference to the allegory of the people in the cave, but never moved myself to investigate until recently. It turns out that it’s a reference to (obviously) the Allegory of the Cave, in Plato’s Republic. The implication is that the narrator of the song possesses the key to reality (Plato’s Forms).
How is this significant? I don’t know. Do you? leave a comment and speculate.