Are we human or are we dancers?

"America is raising a generation of dancers."

-Hunter S. Thompson

I did my best to notice
When the call came down the line
Up to the platform of surrender
I was brought but I was kind

And sometimes I get nervous
When I see an open door
Close your eyes, clear your heart
Cut the cord

Are we human or are we dancers?
My sign is vital, my hands are cold
And I'm on my knees looking for the answer
Are we human or are we dancers?

Pay my respects to grace and virtue
Send my condolences to good
Give my regards to soul and romance
They always did the best they could

And so long to devotion
You taught me everything I know
Wave goodbye, wish me well
You've gotta let me go

Are we human or are we dancers?
My sign is vital, my hands are cold
And I'm on my knees looking for the answer
Are we human or are we dancers?

Will your system be alright
When you dream of home tonight?
There is no message we're receiving
Let me know, is your heart still beating?

Are we human or are we dancers?
My sign is vital, my hands are cold
And I'm on my knees looking for the answer

You've gotta let me know
Are we human or are we dancers?
My sign is vital, my hands are cold
And I'm on my knees looking for the answer
Are we human or are we dancers?

Are we human or are we dancers?
Are we human or are we dancers?


~~


Are we human or are we dancers? An interesting question reiterated throughout the song. Really, the song is a semi-satire of the obedient, soul-dead, conformist members of society, and partially a philosophical query into the meaning of being human. 


The dancer is a symbolism for both being an unthinking person who puts on a show to gain the acceptance of others and as a person who relies the beat of the music or the choreography of someone else to make a move. It is a statement criticizing how we are put under social pressure to behave in a way that is viewed as socially acceptable, rather than attempting to find our own way of living.

Up to the platform of surrender/ I was brought but I was kind

The platform of surrender mentioned is the stage where the dance is taking place where everyone has to follow the choreography and be synchronized with each other and every single mistake, no matter how small, is magnified and inflated out of control and immediately picked upon by the finicky and extremely particular audience. The lines imply that we, as humans, are not forced to conform to society but we choose to do so without protest.

And sometimes I get nervous/ when I see an open door/ 

Again, the theme that we are unable to make a move without the society's approval is restated. We get nervous when we 'see an open door', because we know that once we walk out that door, there will be no one there to tell us what to do. We are a people afraid of the responsibilities associated with freedom. 

Close your eyes, clear your heart/ Cut the cord

The song now discusses the brainwashing that all of us are going through everyday, be it in the form of advertisements or political speeches, we are told to 'clear our hearts' and 'cut the cord'; to fit into society, we must eliminate all traces of ourselves such that we are able to be indoctrinated into the community and that we must be emotionally detached, there must not be any feelings of protest within us.

Are we human or are we dancers?/

My sign is vital, my hands are cold/

And I'm on my knees looking for the answer/

Are we human or are we dancers?

The chorus, I feel, is the most beautiful part of the song because of the way it is delivered to the reader. They first give you information, which you trust without checking, and then ask you a rhetorical question. Based on the information, you decide whether you are a human or a dancer. The information leads you to believe that the person is dead and so the answer is obvious; we are all dancers. Now, the reader/listener is struck with a sudden realization of his actual position in society. That all the gobbledygook about freedom and free choice is nonsense; really, think about it, we are given an illusion of free choice. We can choose whatever we want to do, but we will always eventually have to conform to society. 

Will your system be alright/ When you dream of home tonight?

So they say, home is where the heart is. What the line is trying to say is that when we really look and question society, we will be shocked because we realize that we do not decide what we want to do; society dictates it for us. The word system is also used, downgrading us to but simple, unthinking machines who do as they are told. We are functioning, but we cannot feel anything. Like the operating system of a computer, our minds are emotionless.

There is no message we're receiving/ Let me know, is your heart still beating?

Now, the person is asked whether he can function of there is no telling them what to do. The answer of course is a 'no'. 

The song, in general, I find beautiful. The way it is sung, as we are absorbed into the robotic beat. The lyrics are very meaningful and the symbolism of the dancer is creative, but really, what I enjoyed was how it got me thinking. We are asked whether we are human or dancers. The answer is that we are all dancers. The song is trying to say that we should not be dancers, but we should be humans. The question now is:

What does it mean to be human?