Interpretations:Working Undercover For The Man

From This Might Be A Wiki

He's playing in an edgy band. He's living the thrilling life of a rock star on the road. But in the end, like everyone else, he's still part of The Establishment. There is no revolution.

Hmmm. That's what I got out of it.

I think I recall hearing the suggestion (or maybe it was even a quote from one of the Johns) that the song was about an undercover narcotics officer pretending to be part of a rock band. (I guess it could be ANY kind of undercover agent, but a narc works particularly well because of the high drug use at many concerts.) -VoVat

I have always loved this song ever since I heard it on TMBG.com and I thought It was an extremely funny song. I think the song is not only refering to the musical revalution, but all things that areloved by the new generation and despised by the government. It is about a man who works for the man(the establishment, the machine,etc.) who is trying to catch all the young punks who enjoy this stuff as if it were outlawed. -drworm 818- aol IM/ visit me anytime, always good to meet another TMBG fan.

It's about a man who has been hired by "The Man" to infiltrate youth culture and spy on them. I don't think that there's more to the lyrics than is written, but that's not to say that there isn't a deeper meaning. It's a jab at the part of our generation that is so sure that "The Man" is trying to trick them and trap them at every turn. It's a fun song with a sarcastic message. -Davenport

At the 7-23-2005 Philly show, John F introduced this song as being about a band (or bands) that were covertly working with the FBI to track and spy on the band's fans. --Duke33 22:07, 23 Jul 2005 (EDT)

Yeah, I think there's no hidden meaning - it's just a fanciful, fictitious story about a government spy in a rock band. Reminds me a lot of Philip K Dick's later novels, especially Radio Free Albemuth.

ASL

I like this song because, at the 'working undercover for the man' part, it sounds like something big is going to happen, but nothing does.

To me, could be a satire on conspiracy theories, a spy-themed song in which the person is in espionage under a totally different identity, or a satire on the mass-produced (if you understand my implication here) pop music of today. 0dd1 05:10, 28 March 2009 (UTC)


To me, it just seems more like it's a guy in one of those hardcore anarchist bands, who, in the end, like everyone else, is part of the man and the machine and the establishment. I definitely agree with the first poster.

Imposter Syndrome[edit]

Of course it's a song that's pretty straightforwardly about a government spy infiltrating the rock scene by posing as a band member. I've often wondered, though, if that functions as a kind of extended metaphor for intense imposter syndrome as a musician/artist. He feels like he's playing dress up, infiltrating a world he has no right to be in. He feels like an outsider even though he loves his job. Not implying here that this is John F's personal experience, though who knows - even the best can develop killer cases of imposter syndrome from time to time. Unsuspectingprey (talk) 14:42, 11 February 2024 (EST)

Retrieved from "https://tmbw.net/wiki/index.php?title=Interpretations:Working_Undercover_For_The_Man&oldid=338343"