Each of these possible answers, or "attempts" to answer this initial question presents a different interpretation of the opening material, building to a head before collapsing in on itself. This is in fact where the piece gets its (admittedly) bizarre name. The title is a reference to the 1785 Scottish poem "Tae A Moose" by Robert Burns which includes the famous line, "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men/ Gang aft agley". That second line translates from Scotts to read "often go awry". And boy does it. Each time a section of the work fails to stand as a complete response to the opening, the next enters with an even bleaker attitude: initial confidence returns beleaguered, false triumph dissolves into blurry confusion, and at one point the music becomes a sarcastic and frustrated waltz before throwing a temper tantrum. When the "right answer" is finally found, it's with a simple resolution of the original chord which was there all along. Following this short respite, the many ideas that once conflicted in different sections of the piece, come together to create a unified force for the first time. The piece is intended to be a reflection of what artists struggle with in their work: the constant search for a means of expression that is somehow simple but still inevitable. There are always a multitude of options for what an artist can construct based on their initial concept, but it is exceptionally difficult to find the one execution that simply works. Whether this particular piece of music lives up to that end… well, that's up to the listener.