The song, nearly 10 minutes long, is based on the University of Texas tower shooting in 1966, with some fictional elements.
The song does not name the actual sniper, Charles Whitman, or the location.
The second is a variety of people reacting to the event, as if in response to news media questions.
And the third voice is that of the Sniper himself, stating his fears, his motives, and his raw emotions.
Eventually the Sniper pours out his pain over the failed relationship between himself and his mother, who had ignored him as a child.