Songfacts®:

• In an interview with the New Musical Express December 8, 2007, the interviewer asked who are the nameless authorities in the lyric who fill us full of lies. Lead vocalist Win Butler replied: "I guess who 'they' are depends on when and where we're playing. I kind of feel like the Pied Piper when I sing that song. Playing the song and trying to get all these kids to follow me down the street and into a river!"
• Butler added some thoughts on the topic of rebellion: "90 percent of what people are forced to listen to in a day is someone trying to force them to buy something that they don't need. At a certain point you've got to say, 'shut up.' It's like someone poking you in the face all the time. You can just ignore it and try to go about your life in a certain way or say, 'stop hitting me.' You have to say, 'Stop! Stop! Stop hitting me. Stop pushing me.' I think that's rebellion. People should rebel against us. 'Oh, we're better than Arcade Fire, we're not going to use guitars, we're going to use some sampling program and make music that's better than those a--holes.' You know what I mean? That's really important."
• Arcade Fire traditionally play this fan favorite as their closing song during performances at music festivals and concerts.