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About

Genius Annotation

The 6th track off Arcade Fire’s Grammy winning masterpiece The Suburbs draws on the album’s introspective themes of youth and adulthood, whilst drawing on biblical imagery. The lead songwriter Win Butler and his brother Will were brought up as Mormons, and this influence is clearly seen in this song.

“City with No Children” is used as a metaphor for a city with its life sucked out of it. Butler muses on images of childhood, and details their destruction, through war, a failing engine, or simply forgetting who we once were. Therein lies the tragedy of the transition from childhood to adulthood explored on the album – a complete transformation of character where the child within us dies, and we learn to accept the harsh realities of life.

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