Heartland

My sixpence worth :-

Although as usual there are many layers if one takes it as a song about war and destruction.

The only difference between verse one and verse two is "delta" and "Kirkstall"

The narrator is then making a comparison to America's past war in Vietnam and it's future war in Leeds

million voices wrote:The only difference between verse one and verse two is "delta" and "Kirkstall"

Bearing this in mind, a possible other interpretation is imagining himself as a 21st century variant of (the original) Rambo, coming home from war but continuing his own private battle.

mh wrote:

million voices wrote:The only difference between verse one and verse two is "delta" and "Kirkstall"

Bearing this in mind, a possible other interpretation is imagining himself as a 21st century variant of (the original) Rambo, coming home from war but continuing his own private battle.

... or something the like. Returning from armed conflict to a country (allegedly) in peace while (of course) still maintaining the habits of war, drug usage included.
Insofar, I'd also like to mention the counting down from 11 to 7 in the second chorus ... the illusion of gaining inner peace far away from the battlefield gradually dissolving ... no escape from where you've been and what has been (even the morning light in the trees looks alike) ... which, in turn, could be a reference to (IMHO) one precondition for coming off ... err ... drug usage.

Google 2022 wrote: What is the meaning of war drug?
The War on Drugs is a phrase used to refer to a government-led initiative that aims to stop illegal drug use, distribution and trade by dramatically increasing prison sentences for both drug dealers and users. The movement started in the 1970s and is still evolving today.31 May 2017

That thing is rooted to 19th century. Wiki has a multiple page thread on that (Though epidermic approach from wiki, someone can imagine that there is more on that). And a ton of books written about that. 's approach is rather a stand still of all that things.

There are several interviews where Eldritch talks about how much fun it is to watch war coverage, or even nuclear holocaust, while wasted on acid/speed. That's the real double meaning of "doing the war on drugs". Plus, the acceleration from 11 to 7 - that's speed. I wish they still played that. The acceleration is the kind of thing that only the good Doktor can do right.

There's that. Also, the use of simulants by various armed forces when in action and the necessity of narcotic analgesics when injured in battle.