I listen to this album too much. I get the feeling there are a handful of characters here, and the album follows a main character from start to finish.
Our hero pours his heart out to a woman (emily jean stock)
But she turns him down (mama, won't you)
He meets another in the war (me & you watson) overseas
But they are separated when he's shot (love song).
He goes crazy, has psycho nightmares (satan said dance)
On his medical leave, he sees the futility of war, regrets the fighting, and misses home. (goodbye to mother and the cove)
So, once he's back, he mouths off to get himself discharged (arm & hammer) so he can be with her again.
But they're not welcome in the states anymore (yankee), like the Vietnam troops experienced hate
They decide to spend their lives in a boat on the sea (wet dynomite, underwater).
He reflects on his life there (five easy pieces), he's conflicted about the things he's done.
Visiting (maybe a war buddy? maybe his own son who feels so distant?) family, he has flashbacks. This song may come before 5EP)
I think the distortion is symbolism; it's symbolic of authority, or dissent to authority. The whole first song might be from the POV of a President, a war general. Maybe it symbolizes an uncontrollable force like a march to war. I don't think this song involves the main character. There's some violent imagery, which I believe is symbolic of terrorist threat, and how such scare tactics motivate negative reaction.
The war invades the life of our character in Emily Jean Stock. This is symbolized with the expanded drums and loudness between the verses. Maybe he is being pursued by the Army here. I think going to war may have scared Emily, and that's why she rejects him, even though media says the war is going well. He rejects her in return when he meets someone else (I will call her Amanda, see Arm & Hammer) in Love Song ("drop dead, Stock")
I think that Satan Said Dance is a hallucination or dream of the character. We hear the crippled elephant music during Mama, and of course again after Satan. I see that as showing that Love Song + Elephant are linked, and this is interjected in between.
Yankee is probably even more of a lash-out against war than Arm & Hammer is. I think the title "Arm & Hammer" represents the disconnect between a government (the arm, which swings) and it's military (the hammer, which is the acting force). It means that the government might not have a true or unclouded knowledge of what it's hitting, because it doesn't make direct contact with the enemy (nails).
I think that "Wet Dynomite" was written to be on this album, but was scrapped in favor of Underwater. These songs definitely go together. The "not one thing left to say" bit is referenced again in Sword Song, and they both mean no longer referencing the past.
Underwater is a song of peace, antithesis to Some Loud Thunder. Just to note, the arpeggio melody at the end of this song is hauntingly similar to the Sword Song arpeggio (different keys, though). Another note, the eBow melody fits well over Some Loud Thunder.
My tracklist fits "Me & You, Watson" between "Mama" and "Love Song"; "Wet Dynomite" between "Yankee" and "Underwater"; "The Sword Song" either last or 2nd to last, I can't decide yet.
