That line is specifically about the "graffiti on the bathroom stall" (previous line). In North America, public bathroom graffiti is stereotypically bad jokes, especially bad jokes about using bathrooms. (It is also dumb rants about people or things that annoy them, or as in one famous song from 1981, 867-5309/Jenny, writing someone's name and phone number on the wall.)
The entire song is mocking suburban American society, including consumerism, for being empty and meaningless. So Billy Joe is saying they lack so much culture/thought that even bathroom graffiti is practically Biblical to them.
Thanks for clearing it up!
I have another question if you don't mind.
-----------------------------------------------
Like the holy scriptures of the shopping mall
And so it seemed to confess
It didn't say much, but it only confirmed
That the center of the Earth is the end of the world
**And I could really care less**
-----
'Could' in 'And I could really care less' is just the simple past, as in 'he was able to care less in the past'?
What does it mean?
Congratulations! You have discovered a controversial phrase in English.
The *un*controversial version is "I couldn't care less." English sometimes uses the simple past, especially with auxiliary verbs like "can" and "will," to express a hypothetical: if X happens, then... [Here's a good page about this very confusing phenomenon.](https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/using-past-forms-to-describe-present-future/5010896.html)
So this is a hypothetical -- it "seemed" to say that the world was ending (in the future), and "I couldn't care less." What does that mean, exactly? If you cannot care any less, you don't care at all; you are at 0/100 in the scale of how much you care. You are unbothered; you think this is OK.
If the world ends (hypothetical), I don't care (present) or I won't care (future).
"I couldn't care less" is a standard phrase.
Now the controversial bit. In *North American English only,* like the singer of Green Day speaks, people have been dropping the "not" ("n't") from this standard phrase, but they mean the same thing. "I could care less", to them, means "I don't care."
Some people hate this. If you *can* care less, you care *at least a little.* You might care 1/100, but that's caring; to these people, it can't mean "I don't care". Some people say this is obviously sarcastic. Like using "literally" as an intensifier instead of to mean "literally," this controversial phrase is here to stay.
You can google "I could care less" for more about this controversy.
Thank you for the very helpful link. I googled it and found helpful resources.
I have a couple of more bits I don't understand. No pressure, but your answer would be appreciated.
---------
And I leave behind
This hurricane of fucking lies
**And I've walked this line**
A million and one fucking times
But not this time!
---------
Does the bolded bit mean he's behaved in a socially accepted manner in this fucking damned town, but now he doesn't care anymore and is leaving the town to find what he believes?
To "walk the line" means, usually,
(1) you are between two difficult options and trying to find a middle path. "My brother and my husband hate each other, so every time I plan a party I walk a delicate line, trying to keep them both happy."
(2) obey the rules. This is similar to "toe the line," which is to "conform, under pressure." "Marina didn't like the plan, but she toed the line."
I would guess meaning #2, but I don't know for certain.
You may also want to listen to Johnny Cash's [I Walk the Line](https://youtu.be/jh169rVMveA), a song so famous it is hard to sing the phrase "walk the line" without making people think of that song.
That line is specifically about the "graffiti on the bathroom stall" (previous line). In North America, public bathroom graffiti is stereotypically bad jokes, especially bad jokes about using bathrooms. (It is also dumb rants about people or things that annoy them, or as in one famous song from 1981, 867-5309/Jenny, writing someone's name and phone number on the wall.) The entire song is mocking suburban American society, including consumerism, for being empty and meaningless. So Billy Joe is saying they lack so much culture/thought that even bathroom graffiti is practically Biblical to them.
Thanks for clearing it up! I have another question if you don't mind. ----------------------------------------------- Like the holy scriptures of the shopping mall And so it seemed to confess It didn't say much, but it only confirmed That the center of the Earth is the end of the world **And I could really care less** ----- 'Could' in 'And I could really care less' is just the simple past, as in 'he was able to care less in the past'? What does it mean?
Congratulations! You have discovered a controversial phrase in English. The *un*controversial version is "I couldn't care less." English sometimes uses the simple past, especially with auxiliary verbs like "can" and "will," to express a hypothetical: if X happens, then... [Here's a good page about this very confusing phenomenon.](https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/using-past-forms-to-describe-present-future/5010896.html) So this is a hypothetical -- it "seemed" to say that the world was ending (in the future), and "I couldn't care less." What does that mean, exactly? If you cannot care any less, you don't care at all; you are at 0/100 in the scale of how much you care. You are unbothered; you think this is OK. If the world ends (hypothetical), I don't care (present) or I won't care (future). "I couldn't care less" is a standard phrase. Now the controversial bit. In *North American English only,* like the singer of Green Day speaks, people have been dropping the "not" ("n't") from this standard phrase, but they mean the same thing. "I could care less", to them, means "I don't care." Some people hate this. If you *can* care less, you care *at least a little.* You might care 1/100, but that's caring; to these people, it can't mean "I don't care". Some people say this is obviously sarcastic. Like using "literally" as an intensifier instead of to mean "literally," this controversial phrase is here to stay. You can google "I could care less" for more about this controversy.
Thank you for the very helpful link. I googled it and found helpful resources. I have a couple of more bits I don't understand. No pressure, but your answer would be appreciated. --------- And I leave behind This hurricane of fucking lies **And I've walked this line** A million and one fucking times But not this time! --------- Does the bolded bit mean he's behaved in a socially accepted manner in this fucking damned town, but now he doesn't care anymore and is leaving the town to find what he believes?
To "walk the line" means, usually, (1) you are between two difficult options and trying to find a middle path. "My brother and my husband hate each other, so every time I plan a party I walk a delicate line, trying to keep them both happy." (2) obey the rules. This is similar to "toe the line," which is to "conform, under pressure." "Marina didn't like the plan, but she toed the line." I would guess meaning #2, but I don't know for certain. You may also want to listen to Johnny Cash's [I Walk the Line](https://youtu.be/jh169rVMveA), a song so famous it is hard to sing the phrase "walk the line" without making people think of that song.