1901

To piggyback off the comment made by Frznfyer, the song does seem to merges Parisian history with that of a current, dwindling relationship: both are complicated. Both are weak, decadent.

The ambition, or some may argue gall, of the Eiffel Tower, reaching high toward the heavens, was a symbol of not just human reason and technical expertise, but of "unlimited" and "unchecked" human abilities (per the Age of Enlightenment). In short, it is hubris. This mindset is not all unlike the Tower of Babel in the biblical account. When this ambition or hubris takes place, past and present becomes meaningless and the future is all that matters; building ourselves a determined, cozy fate is all that matters. History wishes to control and guarantee future outcomes... Sound familiar???

Likewise, his girlfriend wishes understand all the complex parts of a relationship and build an edifice of it, so to guarantee it stands in the future. But, really, continued diligence and maintenance is the key to any relationship, as it is a dynamic thing in nature. You can't hold and see and feel "love." The narrator gets this. "It's not a miracle we needed." He tries to remind her of the simpler things, like making love and laying down to have sex --- literally, being horizontal with the earth rather than trying to transcend the heavens in vertical fashion, you might say.

-- But what really struck me about this song is the honesty of the narrator in the first stanza, where he almost falls for this elaborate blueprint of his girlfriend: "For a minute thought I couldn't tell how to fall out." I know in past relationships, I was willing to believe anything my gf said because you want to be one with your significant other --- hell, I even began to believe in the claims she made that I was cheating on her (when I wasn't in reality).

Being in a relationship is by definition a sort of weakness because we suddenly need to give up our sheer independence and become co-dependent with the other. In other words, we need to build something but it need not be so big and complex. Like an arch. If you have a cornerstone to hold it together, like "joy" or "love" or whatever, then it can be stronger than isolated, individual blocks. It also needs to have a function.

The trick, I guess, is building something strong enough to weather all the storms that WILL ensue.. Tricky formula that is. But in the end, returning to the earth, laying flat with another is a good way to start..