The Other Side of Paradise

I've spent a lot of time listening to this song... the whole album actually. The concept of the album is that each song tells a story about the different individuals on the artwork, and it is my understanding that all of these stories are somehow interconnected. So... with that being said, here's what I gather:

This song is narrated by a woman whose boyfriend decided to head west to be famous. He left to be a rock and roll star. Obviously, once he gets out west, his life sucks, but he's loving it, as evidenced by the braggadocious phone calls back home where he talks about his gold Camaro, but he's still living in a tiny room with five other people. It's all irrelevant, because it was a one way ticket and he's going to stay there and try to make it big.

The woman is left at home. And she's pregnant. I don't know if she's told the boyfriend or not, but I'd guess she hasn't. She realized it's a lost cause. He's throwing his life away out there and he won't every come home. She's settling for his ghost, phone calls, but she knows he would run away from her for good if he knew that she was pregnant... "fingers in a fist like you might run".

"Bye bye baby blue" refers to the adoption. She knows it's a boy, but she doesn't even name him before she gives him away. The wicked truth is that she wanted the baby, but couldn't support it. She says that where she's from, no one would leave to be a rock and roll star knowing a baby was on the way. He'd stay home and take care of the family. Instead, she screams, "don't you blame me!" because she had to give away her son. (On a side note, we hear about the boy in "Youth" as well as more of mom's story- "Boy, when I left you, you were young...")

Now, that innocent girl is gone. Her body looks wrong (postpartum), and she feels totally numb. She's still settling for the ghost of her boyfriend who won't ever come home.

Who is singing? I don't know. But I think her name could be Agnes, and we'll hear the rest of her story later...