A Good Flying Bird

Essentially, two people looking back on their relationship with all its twists and turns: sometimes they'd stumble but they stuck by each other. I get the impression of two college-age people or high-school sweethearts in the summer after graduation, looking back on their life together. Deciding that they turned out alright in the end ("We were not the worst we've ever been"). The last three lines pretty much sum it up: live life your way (very Thoreau).

Just thought of this: "bird" used to be old slang for a girl, so a good flying bird - basically saying "you've been good to me". It's been a good relationship - the flying was good.

I think it's about the innocence of youth, the troubles of adult life, and how we remain who were when we were younger. We don't change all that much. What changes is the circumstances of our lives and the consequences of our actions.

On some level it might be about the Middle Ages. "Times of simple pleasures" is about the past age, "not so fond of reason" implies a pre-Enlightenment mentality, and "Fools and kings decide ways to live your life" is pretty clear. Obviously this is more metaphor than the sole meaning of the song, but think about it