Here comes the text of Jethro Tull’s „Locomotive Breath“:
„In the shuffling madness // Of the locomotive breath, // Runs the all-time loser, // Headlong to his death. // He feels the piston scraping - // Steam breaking on his brow - // Old Charley stole the handle and // The train won’t stop going - // No way to slow down. // He sees his children jumping off // At the stations - one by one. // His woman and his best friend - // In bed and having fun. // He’s crawling down the corridor // On his hands and knees - // Old Charlie stole the handle and // The train won’t stop going - // No way to slow down. // He hears the silence howling - // Catches angels as they fall. // And the all-time winner // Has got him by the balls. // He picks up Gideon’s Bible - // Open at page one - // (I said) God (he) stole the handle and // The train won’t stop going - // No way to slow down.“
Here my interpretation according to my topic (=> op):
The situation of the „all-time-loser“ is pretty similar to the situation of the mass of the male human beings (never fear because I am NOT a feminist!), or even the entire human species, not only when we think of the economical crises, but also and especially of the technical or engineering crises which have been increasing rapidly since the beginning of modern times, especially the beginning of occidental modern times.
„Locomotive-breath“-persons, -things, -performers (referred to my interpretation)
„All-time-loser“: Mass of the male human beings.
„His wife“: Mass of the female human beings.
„His children“: Reproduced mass of the more or less prospective human beings (=> the future of reproduction).
„His best friend“: Rulers (main area: finance/ecomics, politics, and media).
„Stations“: Generations (years per generation).
„Old Charley“: „Ancient“ rulers (main area: technique/technology, science).
„God“: „Modern“ rulers (main area: technique/technology, science).
„Train“: Development as the decline of all human beeings.
„Handle“: Best way of human life (maybe James S. Saint’s „anentropic harmony“ ).
„Gideon’s Bible“: Light bulb moment („aha“).
„All-time-winner“: Entropy.
The „all-time loser“ is not able to defeat the „all-time winner“ forever, but he is able to defeat him temporarily. We are able and have to fight the entropy, elsewise we are dead.
The development of technology/technique, the so called „progress“, is not stoppable, if there is no „handle“ which means no better or even best way of human life, and which assumes a philosophy of life, a life-philosophy (Lebensphilosophie). If we don’t find again or recover the right „handle“ in order to live, then there is „no way to slow down“, and we are lost.
We don’t have to believe in „modern“ rulers who play God. We have to pay attention to our lives, to our families, thus to our children, to the demographic development (the fertility rates shouldn’t be too low, as currently in Europe, North America, in parts of Latin America, in parts of Aisa, and Australia, and shouldn’t be too high, as currently in Africa, in parts of Asia, and in parts of Latin America). We don’t have to believe in „progress“ because there is no progress in comparison to our lives. Outside of our lives there is only the same development as every time. We have to believe in our lives (existences) without paying too much attention to things which are too far away from us.