I've always viewed this song as an agnostic's plea to God (who he has his doubts about) to please come show him a sign that this is after all a rational world, the wicked get punished and the virtuous rewarded, in spite of the evidence to the contrary that he finds everyday on the train.
Waiting for the End of the World means he is waiting to see if the Day of Reckoning actually reckons anything at all. It belies the spiritual suffering of one who cannot find a righteous life for all the wickedness in the world. Of course, in the world of the godly, this is no excuse.
I've always viewed this song as an agnostic's plea to God (who he has his doubts about) to please come show him a sign that this is after all a rational world, the wicked get punished and the virtuous rewarded, in spite of the evidence to the contrary that he finds everyday on the train. Waiting for the End of the World means he is waiting to see if the Day of Reckoning actually reckons anything at all. It belies the spiritual suffering of one who cannot find a righteous life for all the wickedness in the world. Of course, in the world of the godly, this is no excuse.