I could be wrong, but it always seemed obvious to me just from the first few lines that this song is about watching someone close to you suffer, most likely from something they're doing to themselves (drug abuse, alcoholism, etc.). I've always related it to a friend of mine who was starting to get intro drugs and losing himself.
Okay, so here's my analysis (I'm just gonna refer to the speaker as Johnny to avoid confusion):
The first couple stanzas are basically just saying, "I don't want to watch you kill yourself slowly/become someone you're not." All the good memories with this person are being sort of overshadowed by the worry Johnny feels because of the situation they're in. Johnny knows he can't do anything to save them if they don't want to save themselves (hence it being hopeless).
The next stanza starts by detailing what the person is to Johnny. They're obviously important to him. He sees them as a fallen angel of sorts. They're beautiful in whatever way, but they've become tattered or broken because of what they're doing to themselves. It isn't fair to him what they've become. I'm not sure what the whole sitting on Hell's throne and fire that won't quit thing means, but I think it can be one of two things. He could be saying that he has to play the role of the "bad guy", because generally when someone has a substance abuse problem they get very irritated and angry with you when you try to talk them out of their ways. The ones who care are usually the ones who get the most attitude and get hurt the most. The fire that won't quit could be a direct reference to himself, saying that he's going to constantly be on this person's case and not back down.
It could also just mean that he finds himself in such an awful position and is being really hurt by what the person's doing, and is saying that the whole ordeal is Hell for him.
And the last stanza, which to me is the saddest, is him having to let go. He's saying that he's always fighting for this person, but that his words and his pleas fall on deaf ears, so it's really a silent fight. He knows that there's nothing he can do to make things right for the person, so he just has to let go of them (saying goodnight).
So really, it has a very tragic meaning, especially if you go through this yourself with a loved one.
I could be wrong, but it always seemed obvious to me just from the first few lines that this song is about watching someone close to you suffer, most likely from something they're doing to themselves (drug abuse, alcoholism, etc.). I've always related it to a friend of mine who was starting to get intro drugs and losing himself.
Okay, so here's my analysis (I'm just gonna refer to the speaker as Johnny to avoid confusion):
The first couple stanzas are basically just saying, "I don't want to watch you kill yourself slowly/become someone you're not." All the good memories with this person are being sort of overshadowed by the worry Johnny feels because of the situation they're in. Johnny knows he can't do anything to save them if they don't want to save themselves (hence it being hopeless).
The next stanza starts by detailing what the person is to Johnny. They're obviously important to him. He sees them as a fallen angel of sorts. They're beautiful in whatever way, but they've become tattered or broken because of what they're doing to themselves. It isn't fair to him what they've become. I'm not sure what the whole sitting on Hell's throne and fire that won't quit thing means, but I think it can be one of two things. He could be saying that he has to play the role of the "bad guy", because generally when someone has a substance abuse problem they get very irritated and angry with you when you try to talk them out of their ways. The ones who care are usually the ones who get the most attitude and get hurt the most. The fire that won't quit could be a direct reference to himself, saying that he's going to constantly be on this person's case and not back down.
It could also just mean that he finds himself in such an awful position and is being really hurt by what the person's doing, and is saying that the whole ordeal is Hell for him.
And the last stanza, which to me is the saddest, is him having to let go. He's saying that he's always fighting for this person, but that his words and his pleas fall on deaf ears, so it's really a silent fight. He knows that there's nothing he can do to make things right for the person, so he just has to let go of them (saying goodnight).
So really, it has a very tragic meaning, especially if you go through this yourself with a loved one.