The first thing to strike me about this is the cadence of the lyrics. I imagine them as being said very quickly, almost angrily, because of the fact that the lines are all short, containing only a few words each, and most of the words themselves are single syllabic. It's quick, terse.
Also very telling is the second to last line, "Every day is the Ides of March", which to me signifies betrayal (seeing as how the Ides of March is famous for the betrayal of Caesar, and among his assasinators was his friend Brutus). Since to the author, "Every day" is this day of betrayal, this reinforces the idea that he is harboring some kind of resenting or anger.
Something else which especially caught my eye was the pair of lines "Dust to dust / Ash to ash". It's a Biblical reference, Genesis 3:19. The text from the Bible reads, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return". It was adapted for old English burial services (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/ashes-to-ashes.html).
Listen to the song here.
After listening to the song, however, I was struck by the fact that it was a very slow beat. Instead of anger, the lyrics takes on the feeling of sadness.
Also very telling is the album artwork, most especially the bomb. This reinforces the feeling that many people have as the song being about war, the anger and uselessness of it all.
With all three aspects taken together (lyrics, music, and image), I am left thinking that the song is about war, the uselessness of it, and the pain and sadness that comes with it.
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