I think he talks about the perfect place as if it was heaven, but he's referring to earth, saying that because of war, lack of union, etc. We fail to see that we live already in a perfect place, yet we fail to enjoy it because of these problems. Most of this idea came to me from the line
"And when the farm is good and bought, you'll be there without a thought,
And eternity, my friend, is a long fucking time."
When we take responsibility to make this world our heaven, it will be, the author, however, doesn't think we will achieve this.

This song is somewhat sarcastic yet clever,basically through a skeptic point of view. I think this song is about how organized religion has promised, assumed (an eternal place) and deceived people until now and in the past.

The first verse speaks of a perfect place where everyone can be 'happy'; that we will be like children again. It's common in all religious denomination. An assumption of a better place other than whats earthly, that's their claim.

The second verse tells us of how would someone wanted to be in this 'perfect place' but cannot reconcile it with his belief ,as in a doubter standpoint. He cannot change their minds so he just go stand his ground whatever happens in the end.

The third verse or chorus speaks of how religion has poisoned the world through wars, tribal conflicts and hatred among different groups, yet they speak of peace and harmony. Religion has made other people life 'colorful' or meaningful, giving them a purpose in life, but equally it has created such insurmountable miseries and sorrow in the world. This is what is really happening in the past 100 years or so and that man has still no clear solutions up to this day (just look at history).

The fourth verse, is again from non-believer stance. It talks about our life we got, here and now. Te time we span on this very earth, our nature is to behave free and adversarial. We have different opinions as opposed to others; there is no requirement or rules, since everybody will be born and eventually die. Beyond death no one knows.

The last verse is about how we can do our part,believer or not,cooperation and unity is what will really save us for now, because man will also be the cause of his own demise and if there is really an afterlife, we're all get bored for it's a fucking long time.

Heaven is a place where not everyone is happy. Only believers are happy there. This is the atheists answer to heaven. A place where the only qualification is to have lived. Because some people are just born in the wrong body at the wrong time. Even those people get in. No fussing, no fighting. If you lived, whether you were rich or poor or a communist or a Nazi, you deserve it. T

The first verse is what most people think the afterlife is like: heaven. The second verse is what the after life is really like. "It's where everyone has been and where everybody goes" means it's what you were like before you were born, everyone has been to that place, and that's what its like after you die, just like before you were born. There are no qualifications and you're there instantly, without a thought.

First thing: the lyrics are totally ironic. Although I never read Nietzsche, I heard some of his phrases. He once said that he hates the Christianity and the Buddhism, for the first swears to redeem people if they act through the teachings of the religion and the second simply redeems everyone; that is, doesn't matter if you are mediocre, if you walk on line you will be saved.

So, they tell us of this "place where anyone can be happy" - like almost everyone said, Heaven. It is clear to me that when the song says "meanest little boys, most innocent little girls / candy canes, planes, bright red choo choo trains" it is showing how to believe in this Heaven is childish. What Brett wants to tell us, I think, is that we keep holding on to this idea of paradise and end up forgetting how our society is full of problems and that if we wanted we could change this. So we keep living our lives like our parents did, waiting for the day we die and jump into eternal happiness.

The chorus is when he puts some doubt over this vision. "Because there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend" is a quotation, taken from Lennon and McCartney's We Can Work It Out. Originally, "Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting, my friend". The difference is that Brett wants to say the exact opposite. Yes, life is short, and we should fight for a better world because we don't know if this Heaven exists.

The girl in the song is who shows this to the guy: "but baby I'm amazed at the hate that you can send and / you painted my entire world / but I don't have the turpentine to clean what you have soiled / and I won't forget it". He is really gonna have some problems when trying to keep his kindergarten ideals after knowing real life.

The song speaks to me of death: the death before we are born and the death after the farm is good and bought, and how religion preys on peoples desire to go to the place where everyone can be happy at the expense of the now.

Religion soils the world we live in by making people focus on the long fucking time that is eternity instead of making the world between deaths pleasant, so no matter if we find the road that leads there and we all do wind up happy and right, we still get to have a bone to pick with the religions that have soiled our entire world.

The "baby" seems to be organized religion in terms of the hate that it sends, the world it soils, and the fussing and fighting it sponsors in the name of the most beautiful place in the whole fucking world.

This song is about the Christian philosophy.

"You painted my entire world, but I don't have the turpentine to clean what you have soiled," refers to the Christian philosophy being forced on every single person in this country and no matter how hard we fight it it is so widespread its going to take more effort.

"There is a place where everyone can be right" is about a world where we accept each other.

"Even though you remain to be opposed" might be about self righteous Christians etc.

The beginning part is dispelling the heaven myth. The line "I don't have the turpentine to clean what you have soiled" I believe refers to people who decide that God is on their side and pump up a bunch of propaganda in a sense, soiling religion. The same idea as the people who go to war in the name of Jesus, a pacifist who specifically spoke out against fighting and specifically about revenge. The line "You painted my entire world" also refers to this idea.

I think that the "admittance requires no qualifications" may be a complaint against the requirements to get into heaven as described by Christianity. Also, it occurs to me that "without a thought" may mean that the way that peace and accord is reached is by suspension of free will; the only way a Utopian heaven is possible is if we lose what makes us human.

The lyrics leading up to the bridge and the chorus in the first verse are all about heaven obviously; and Greg and Brett's lack of belief in it. The line "I wish that I could go there, its a road I have not found", says that, like all of us, we would like to get into heaven, but not only is there not a true and definite path to the pearly gates, but there is very little proof that such a place exists. So Greg wishes you the best of luck in your quest to find it, but when you don't find what you're looking for, don't come whining back to him. Or maybe he's saying do come running back to him, so he can rub it in your face.

Now, I think the chorus has to deal with someone who instead of living their life to the fullest, are spiteful and generally hard to get along with. There's no time for fussing and fighting because truly life is too short to live it being an asshole to everyone. So get off your ass, quit whining, and try to make your mark in society.

The last verse is pretty deep metaphorically. Greg is stating that its "where everyone has been, and where everybody goes." I think that means that to everyone, or every religious person anyway, he/she believes they are self righteous, and will get into their "heaven" no matter what, "admittance requires no qualifications."

Then the last lines hit home with Greg basically saying that, when you die, and you finally discover that there is no heaven, and that you'll be in eternity "without a thought", without consciousness, then you will truly be sorry for living your life the way you did.

I think it is about heaven in the sense of heaven on earth, or a seemingly enlightened mind state, that may or may not be understood by an outside observer.

I read Gurewitz's interpretation and he said it was sort of a reverse love song. I think people who are very critically thoughtful with nihilistic tendencies tend to be susceptible to a certain type of girl. This is very difficult to get across, but i think the song might be about the singer's recognition that this girl, whoever she was, gave him a glimpse of a different world, a less troubling mind state, but ultimately it didn't matter, the protagonist was only left tainted with regret by his vision of a better world.

The song also seems like an affirmation, albeit a nihilistic one, that this girl from a better world wasn't all that special, in that all she could offer him was hope, and no actual substance. But I think the song is relating this idea of people experiencing the world differently to the idea of mortality and the inevitability that eternity awaits everyone.

When he says, "there's a place where everyone can be happy", I think he means the generic human illusion, the idea of heaven, or even the dreams that we have about a solution to our problems. There's some kind of key to this song when he says "admittance requires no qualifications, it's where everyone has been and where everybody goes", that seems to confirm that what he says in the song is about all of us humans, all of our lives have been painted and we can't clean it, we all dream of better places, better lives, and so on.

"There's a place where everyone can be happy, it's the most beautiful place in the whole fucking world." - its talking about the world itself in this part. If everyone got along just fine and dandy, everyone around us would be happy.

"It's made of candy canes and planes, red choo-choo trains and the meanest little boys, and the most innocent little girls, and you know, I wish that I could go there, it's a road that I have not found, and I wish you the best of luck dear, drop a card or letter to my side of town." - sums up how Greg feels, that he's not satisfied with himself, or the world around him for that matter. And there is someone who he thinks will be moving to a better place, and he's wishing that person luck in starting a new life.

"Cuz there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend, but baby I'm amazed by the hate that you can send and you, painted my entire world. But I, don't have the turpentine to clean what you have soiled... and I won't forget it." - Now he's saying to that person that they left an impact on his life. And it's not necessarily a good one either. The "turpentine" means he wants to cleanse himself of what was in the past, and move on from it. Yet somehow he can't because he doesn't have it. So it means he won't forget it no matter what.

"There's a place where everyone can be right, even though you remain determined to be opposed. Admittance requires no qualifications, it's where everyone has been and where everybody goes. So please try not to be impatient, for we all hate standing in line. And when the farm is good and bought, you'll be there without a thought. And eternity my friend, is a long fucking time." - I think he means 'equality' when he says 'there's a place where everyone can be right.' But, there is someone who is always having opposing views on any matter at all.

When he says "admittance requires no qualifications", he means anyone could be right on anything, but not always do people think like this. The 'farm', he is referring to is the Earth itself, I think, as we're going to be on this planet for eternity, until the sun dies anyways.