It occurs to me that there is a lot to keep a person occupied in a small place if a person is the type to be interested in looking through a macroscopic lens but if you are the kind of person who needs to study a larger picture then a small area won't work as a long-term habitat. Some people can see a lifetime of variety in methods and seasons of farming or ranching the same number of acres with only a couple other people while others must meet with a variety of people and places every day and an opportunity to choose a different style of food for each meal to be  satisfied with their lives. There are a lot of different people with as many different requirements. I don't think any should be pitied for their choices as none is a larger or smaller thought but simply a different focus but I would still pity some for their lack of choices.  
And the fact that the song invites you to see either the light or dark of the question, in my mind, supports this.