Rows of houses all bearing down on me
I can feel their blue hands touching me
All these things into position
All these things we'll one day swallow whole
And fade out again and fade out

This machine will not communicate
These thoughts and the strain I am under
Be a world child, form a circle
Before we all go under
And fade out again and fade out again

Cracked eggs, dead birds
Scream as they fight for life
I can feel death, can see it's beady eyes
All these things into position
All these things we'll one day swallow whole
And fade out again and fade out again

Immerse your soul in love
Immerse your soul in love

This song is about life. And because of that, it is about death. Thom claims "I didn't write it.... It wrote itself. We were just its messengers... Its biological catylysts". I believe him. The song is universal in its meaning. Thom also says "'Street Spirit' is about staring the fucking devil right in the eyes... and knowing, no matter what the hell you do, he'll get the last laugh...and it's real...and true. The devil really will get the last laugh in all cases without exception"

For the first stanza, replace "houses" with "people", and its easier to understand. It's about the pressure of people, the way everything is in positions, high or low, good or evil, and about how we have to swallow the truth. The truth is that we will one day, fade out of existence. Its an impossible feeling to describe, but I would suspect everyone has felt it before; the feeling you get when you think of how little you are, how you are living in the blink of an eye as far as time is concerned, how you will not be remembered, how you will fade out.

The second stanza continues on this theme. It is though, about trying (though it is hard) to communicate and form relationships with people. It is about self expression. It is about forming frienships before we fade out.

The third stanza is about fighting and faceing death. The "beady eyes" are probobly the devil's, as Thom said in the quote earlier. There is no escape, and one day we will have to face it, and "swallow it hole".

Finally, the last lines of the song "Immerse your soul in love", is kinda the message of the song. Thom says "'Street Spirit' has no resolve... It is the dark tunnel without the light at the end." So, this line is just, I guess, how you get through the day, the best way to spend your time here.

----I just realized that I have quoted alot, so I might as well throw in here all of what Thom said about the song.--

"'Street Spirit' is our purest song, but I didn't write it.... It wrote itself. We were just its messengers... Its biological catylysts. It's core is a complete mystery to me... and (pause) you know, I wouldn't ever try to write something that hopeless... All of our saddest songs have somewhere in them at least a glimmer of resolve... 'Street Spirit' has no resolve... It is the dark tunnel without the light at the end. It represents all tragic emotion that is so hurtful that the sound of that melody is its only definition. We all have a way of dealing with that song... It's called detachment... Especially me.. I detach my emotional radar from that song, or I couldn't play it... I'd crack. I'd break down on stage.. that's why its lyrics are just a bunch of mini-stories or visual images as opposed to a cohesive explanation of its meaning... I used images set to the music that I thought would convey the emotional entirety of the lyric and music working together... That's what's meant by 'all these things are one to swallow whole'.. I meant the emotional entirety, because I didn't have it in me to articulate the emotion... (pause) I'd crack.... Our fans are braver than I to let that song penetrate them, or maybe they don't realize what they're listening to.. They don't realize that 'Street Spirit' is about staring the fucking devil right in the eyes... and knowing, no matter what the hell you do, he'll get the last laugh...and it's real...and true. The devil really will get the last laugh in all cases without exception, and if I let myself think about that to long, I'd crack. I can't believe we have fans that can deal emotionally with that song... That's why I'm convinced that they don't know what it's about. It's why we play it towards the end of our sets. It drains me, and it shakes me, and hurts like hell everytime I play it, looking out at thousands of people cheering and smiling, oblivious to the tragedy of it's meaning, like when you're going to have your dog put down and it's wagging it's tail on the way there. That's what they all look like, and it breaks my heart. I wish that song hadn't picked us as its catalysts, and so I don't claim it. It asks too much. (very long pause). I didn't write that song." - Thom