Closed For Business
Mansun Lyrics

The lyrics to Mansun's song "Closed for Business" can be interpreted in different ways, but it seems to be a cynical commentary on consumerism and the emptiness of modern life. The opening lines "Roll on up and queue in line, All you need is here" suggest a commercial setting where people are offered everything they could possibly want, but the absurdity of it can't match the state they're in. This could be a reference to the idea that material possessions can't bring happiness or fulfillment.

The chorus "All things are flawed to me, Stick with the things that you know, Buy what you want from me, Hope was the one thing I sold" seems to express a sense of resignation and disillusionment. The world is flawed, and one can only rely on what they already know. The line "Hope was the one thing I sold" could suggest that the singer is a salesman or someone who once believed in the power of hope but has since become jaded.

The verse "Tasteless gas that comes in cans, Why should I be stoned, For selling things to heal your sins, And make your sorrows go" presents the idea that people are willing to buy anything that promises to heal their emotional pain, even if it's just a can of gas. The singer seems to be both critical of this behavior and complicit in it.

The repeated lines "Say what you can't say, I'll never know, Don't want to know, what you really sold" could be interpreted as the singer's desire to remain ignorant of their own complicity in the consumerist system. The final line "Closed for business, I'm going home" could suggest that the singer has had enough of the emptiness of commercialism and is retreating back to their own private world.

Overall, "Closed for Business" seems to be a critique of consumerism and the emptiness of modern life, while also acknowledging the singer's own complicity in it.