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The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Keep Your Picture Clear" by the artist "Tom McRae"

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Tom McRae's "Keep Your Picture Clear" is a critique of societal hypocrisy and manipulation, urging listeners to maintain clarity of thought and critical thinking in a world saturated with deceit.

The lyrical protagonist, perhaps an observer detached from the mundane ("slipping from the ceiling"), sees a man humming "Sympathy for the Devil" without grasping its meaning, symbolizing superficial engagement with reality. The newspaper flying away yet held back by words becomes a metaphor for the information flow that controls and confines thought ("words ain't wings... they hold you down").

The repeated plea "keep your picture clear" isn't a naive call for rose-tinted optimism but rather a demand to combat propaganda and disinformation ("you know you're being lied to"). The world distorts reality ("the picture's gonna lie to you"), creating an illusion of success for the "fittest" who are, in actuality, "bastards."

The song exposes the hypocrisy of those in power ("you talk like a diplomat, but you keep your weapon in your back"), waging wars while capitalizing on the blind faith of the masses. History is presented as a cycle of deceit and manipulation ("liars, cheats, and petty thieves"). The recurring image of a "picture clear" takes on a sinister tone, alluding to surveillance and control.

The final lines about "revolution turned fashion" and "getting fat in famine" suggest that even rebellion and the desire for change can be commodified and exploited. The increasingly desperate repetition of "keep your picture clear" underscores the importance of critical thinking in a world where reality is distorted and manipulated.

Here I go, back again

Sliding off the ceiling.

Was I gone for long?

Did I just flip the switch?

Across the street away from me

A man is singing ‘Sympathy for the Devil',

And he's getting all the words wrong.

His newspaper flies desperately

But words aren't wings; like gravity, they'll keep you here.

It's a theory to subscribe to,

But you know you're being lied to.

So keep your picture clear.

Keep your picture clear.

Stay awake, the lines are drawn.

You're never right until you're wrong

In the eyes of the world.

And a picture tells a thousand lies,

Little dots in black and white.

You've no idea.

The strongest will survive,

But it's the scum that always rises.

So keep your picture clear.

Keep your picture clear.

Keep your picture clear.

And you talk just like a diplomat,

But hide the gun behind your back.

And leaders need a bloody war.

Congratulations, this is yours.

Looking through the history books

Of liars, cheats, and petty crooks.

They'll print your picture clear.

Print your picture clear.

Keep your picture clear.

So close another file

Of revolution turned to style.

We're so tired of walking blind,

Growing fat in hungry times.

Keep your picture clear.

Keep your picture clear

Keep your picture clear

Keep your picture clear

Keep your picture clear

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