Lyric in "Anthem" from CHESS

[rcwr]

Posted: 12/9/16 at 12:52am

"And you ask me why I love her
Through wars, death, and despair
She is the constant, we who don't care
And you wonder will I leave her
But how?

I cross over borders but I'm still there now."

I've been trying to parse this bit for ages: "She is the constant, we who don't care." What does it mean? Does it mean "She is the constant, and [it is] we who don't care?" But isn't something wrong grammatically?

[blm2323]

Posted: 12/9/16 at 1:48am

I've always been perplexed by that too - but I find that happens a lot with some of Tim Rice's lyrics. 

Love the song though!

[hork]

Posted: 12/9/16 at 2:25am

Yes, it means it is we who don't care. I think grammatically it's fine, it just sounds a little weird because it's not how people talk. 

[Fan123]

Posted: 12/9/16 at 3:06am

That's how I interpret it too. I guess Tim Rice is sort of using shorthand for a (very short) list of similar items, a bit like how "Mary ordered the chicken, Lee the carbonara, and Tom the soup" stands in for "Mary ordered the chicken, Lee ordered the carbonara, and Tom ordered the soup". But I do remember being confused by the lyric back in the day. I heard it as "She is the constant. We, who don't care, ..." and I was left thinking, "What about those who don't care? Finish the sentence!"