Ride lyrics

This song is about how old-time religion- ie, christianity, judaism, and islam- are obsolete and spiritually hollow in our modern, industrialized world. Piece by piece:

Stanza 1:
Paints religion as a polarizing force that people accept to give meaning to their meaningless, tedious lives. Personally, "concrete spectacle, buried in sand" always reminds me of how all the aforementioned religions began in the middle east and began as largely sensory institutions- the church depended on powerful and opulent architecture and imagery to sell its message. "divine animation buried in sand" refers to how there is indeed a grain of spiritual power in these ancient texts, but they are obscured by all the bs and dogma these religions have acquired over the centuries.

Stanza 2:
Introducing the clash between ancient religions and industrialization. Before, people were potato-picking peasants- now they are cogs in a machine. And their lives are meaningless and hollow, and religion does not fulfill their spiritual needs. Life is boring and hollow from the instant of birth- "out of the repro-clinic" to toil- "drive the wheels of iron round and round".

Stanza 3:
While you pious losers stay stuck in the 11th century, we're going on a soul-searching journey for the truth- and we're not ashamed or scared to ditch your books full of bs.

Chorus:
Understand the first line, not quite the second. Maybe "crystal" refers to clarity or understanding. Thoughts?