Numbers
Greg MacPherson Lyrics

In his song Numbers, Greg MacPherson themes around a disregard for the conventional norms that society places on people in terms of their financial status and their future plans. He highlights the feeling of helplessness that comes with not having enough money saved or not wanting to deal with numbers in the sense of financial planning. The idea of throwing all the money away speaks to this sense of hopelessness and possibly even nihilism as the future looks bleak.

The line "I don't think about the future, I don't like to deal with numbers" is repeated throughout the song emphasising that the singer is content with living in the here and now, without worrying about the consequences of their actions. They prefer to spend their time outside, watching the world go by, contemplating the divide between town and country life - "Municipal lines half crossing out/And intersect through fields" - something that is both a physical and metaphorical manifestation of the disconnect between urban society and the natural world. The image of sitting outside and watching the motion is one that can be read as a sense of contentment in being an observer rather than a participant in life, which could be seen as both empowering and depressing at the same time.

In the second verse, the singer is portrayed as someone who is directionless and lacks ambition, either by their own accord, or perhaps due to a lack of opportunity. They wear their father's clothes, which could be interpreted as a representation of a lack of self-identity or a continuation of the generational struggle. Again, there is a sense of waiting for something to happen, but it is not clear what that might be. The final two lines of the song "And pretend there's someone out there who cares/I don't think about the future, I don't like to deal with numbers" reinforce the idea that the singer lacks direction, purpose, or hope.