To me this song has been about a guy looking back on his life and remembering a girl walking out of it. He's either thinking that he'll still be in the same painful place when he's old or hes singing the song from the perspective of himself as an old man. I got that from the line
"...as an old man cries"
Then the guy is seeing all these people living in houses with families, happily living their lives and he envies them.
The line
"Freedom spelt by a man in chains"
is the protagonist saying that he has freedom, yet he is imprisoned (chains) by his feelings.
"...the memories of a life I wish we'd lived"
The above live is saying that the protagonist wishes that he could have lived a life like the people in the houses with this girl, but he has nothing but silence.
The last bridge/verse is saying that the girl has moved on, but the protagonist is unable to. He can't just scrap up what dignity he has left and walk away, (even as an old man) the memories of this girl walking away from their relationship still pain him.
I guess it makes alot more sense looking at it the way that MuadDib did, but it makes more sense to me as it being a guy singing to a girl because it relates better to my own experiences.
To me this song has been about a guy looking back on his life and remembering a girl walking out of it. He's either thinking that he'll still be in the same painful place when he's old or hes singing the song from the perspective of himself as an old man. I got that from the line
"...as an old man cries"
Then the guy is seeing all these people living in houses with families, happily living their lives and he envies them. The line
"Freedom spelt by a man in chains"
is the protagonist saying that he has freedom, yet he is imprisoned (chains) by his feelings.
"...the memories of a life I wish we'd lived"
The above live is saying that the protagonist wishes that he could have lived a life like the people in the houses with this girl, but he has nothing but silence.
The last bridge/verse is saying that the girl has moved on, but the protagonist is unable to. He can't just scrap up what dignity he has left and walk away, (even as an old man) the memories of this girl walking away from their relationship still pain him.
I guess it makes alot more sense looking at it the way that MuadDib did, but it makes more sense to me as it being a guy singing to a girl because it relates better to my own experiences.