Splinters was initially written by Simon, starting almost exactly a decade ago. It took three years to transition from "idea" to "demo", and even longer to finally appear on a release, as it took a very long time for us to find the right sound. Despite that, it's one of the early Transmission-era tracks which helped to define the sound of the album.
The lyrics come from a frustration about party politics, particularly Tony Blair and his cronies.
The lyrics:
You pierce my skin with your splinters
You freeze my spring back to winter
You turn my world on its side
And switch my day into night
And there’s no one but you who can take the blame
You wage acts of war and you expect me to talk
You redefine the crime as you lay down the law
We’ve suffered your arrogance so many times
And now you go asking us to toe the line
Splintered words
Your words etched deep on my conscience
A stream of venomous nonsense
You spit and you twist with your lies
And you’re the thorn in our sides
And there you go, you spew more rot and hatred
You wage acts of war and you expect me to talk
You redefine the crime as you lay down the law
We’ve suffered your arrogance so many times
And now you go asking us to toe the line
Splintered souls
And there’s no one without their head in shame
You wage acts of war and you expect me to talk
You redefine the crime as you lay down the law
We’ve suffered your arrogance so many times
And now you go asking us to toe the line
Splintered minds
(R. Martin / S. Martin)
