Lying In State

Theme

A song about a deceptive and predatory figure, personified by the fable of the **scorpion** and the frog—promising not to sting only to immediately betray. The narrator assumes an authoritative, destructive role ('I rule on land, air, and sea,' 'I pass judgement on humanity'), implying a corrupt ruler or a deadly military system that is **'Lying in state'** (both literally, as a body of state, and figuratively, as a state of deceit).