The song's oblique lyric is suggestive of religious and end time themes with references to prayer, meaningful birthmarks and signs in the sky. Ben Hewitt writing for "The Guardian" in 2015 drew attention to the lyric's apocalyptic nature, imagining Cohen "greedily eyeing world domination like a Bond villain". "Rolling Stone" magazine's Mikal Gilmore similarly described the song as a threatening vision of "social collapse and a terrorist's revenge". "The Daily Telegraph's" Robert Sandall likewise observed the prophetic character of the song, but emphasized the song's political statement, placing it in the context of the last days of the Soviet Union.