Which Way Are You Goin'

The song challenges listeners to choose a side when hatred and injustice are growing. Its questions become increasingly pointed: the speaker contrasts people’s public claims of faith and righteousness with actions that seem to deny freedom and compassion. The mood shifts from questioning to disappointment and alarm, as trusted words appear to lose their meaning.

Several images sharpen this criticism. “One hand on the bible / One hand on the gun” suggests a conflict between religious ideals and violence. “You say, you love the baby / Then you crucify the man” implies that someone may support a person in theory or at one stage of life, yet reject or punish that person later. Olive branches usually suggest peace, while spears and guns suggest conflict; the transformation of one into the other portrays peaceful intentions turning hostile.

The lyrics seem to criticize hypocrisy, especially when people demand that others live according to their own beliefs. But they do not name a specific group or situation, so the target remains open to interpretation. The repeated question “Which way are you goin’?” can be heard both as a moral challenge to the listener and as an expression of the speaker’s frustration at a society whose values appear to be changing.