I tend to extrapolate a lot of meaning from SK's lyrics. Who doesn't? That's probably because they beg to be understood at various levels. The man is so adept at metaphor and "The Great Machine" is one of his masterworks. Random Pan has already described the circumstances under which I was introduced to HOB. It was the "The Great Machine" that intrigued me most of all. This song petrified me. The specter of "Y2K" (does anyone remember Y2K?) was gradually coiling itself into our collective psyche, activating archetypes and triggering irruptions of the irrational. Random Pan is correct in use of the word "shadow" to describe what lies at the heart of so many Church songs. The Shadow is an archetype, representing so much negative capability. Although "The Great Machine" may not be about Y2K specifically, it certainly invokes the "shadow".

Of course there is much more to HOB, but I thought this song deserved special attention.