Songfacts®:

• Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is an American folk-rock band led by Alex Ebert, vocalist of the Power-Pop group Ima Robot. Edward Sharpe is a fictional messianic character created by Ebert, who was sent down to Earth to heal and save mankind, but keeps getting distracted by beautiful women. This is the lead single from their second album, Home.
• Ebert originally was going to record this tune for his debut solo album, Alexander, before deciding it "was an Edward Sharpe song."
• Speaking with Artist Direct, Ebert told the story of the song: "It builds on a demo I did," he said. "Instead of recreating the song, we just went with the demo and contributed to it. It was written and recorded at a time where those lyrics were at their post potent for me in my life. They still are. At the time of writing, I was really frustrated with myself and the slow progress of the guidelines of progressive thought. It's like, 'Well, we'll get there.' I just wanted to sort of burn the entire façade and dance. It's the same as 'All Wash Out,' except it uses fire or dance to do it. With all of the problems, pain, murder, heartache, shame, and those things I bring up, especially the conflict, I felt like instead of trying to fix it or work on it within the paradigm of problem-solving, I wanted to throw it all away and just dance in the streets. That's what it's about. It was born from a really intense, defiant, and frustrated place. That's one of the reasons I love that song."
• Ebert told UK newspaper, The Guardian, the song was written in, "the post-elation depression of Obama getting elected and the two or three subsequent years."
  
  He went on to describe the kind of political and personal disappointment that had descended upon him. "I remember being on my couch, pissed off," he explained. "All my life I've wanted to impact earth in the most powerful way possible. I'm so frustrated with myself. I sing songs and we have some great experiences. But what am I doing when I'm not on stage? I'm not doing enough. At all. And why am I not doing that? Because of the social anxiety of being judged, or laziness."