This song is about youth and a young love. At first, I really didn't think so, primarily you can see its about wanting someone back but it has a deeper meaning than that. "The boys of summer" is a metephor for his past. Summer is his past. The best times he had were with the boys of summer. His friends etc. "I can tell you my love for you will still be strong after the boys of summer has gone" means he'll still love her after all his best years have gone
"Nobody on the road, nobody on the beach ... the summer's out of reach..." etc. refers to how the past is over. "I'm driving by your house though I know you're not home" to his love being gone too.
"Out on the road today, I saw a Dead Head sticker on a cadillac" is a metephor for how things have changed too. A Dead Head sticker used to be a sign of rebelling and there it is on a nice car that a lot of people want; exactly what the sticker was rebelling against. It's ironic. It's not longer a sign of rebelling. It's now become part of the consumer world.
Ultimately, he doesn't want to look back to his love because that means looking back onto his past too. It's too late to look back kind of. But he can still see her. He still loves her
This song is about youth and a young love. At first, I really didn't think so, primarily you can see its about wanting someone back but it has a deeper meaning than that. "The boys of summer" is a metephor for his past. Summer is his past. The best times he had were with the boys of summer. His friends etc. "I can tell you my love for you will still be strong after the boys of summer has gone" means he'll still love her after all his best years have gone "Nobody on the road, nobody on the beach ... the summer's out of reach..." etc. refers to how the past is over. "I'm driving by your house though I know you're not home" to his love being gone too. "Out on the road today, I saw a Dead Head sticker on a cadillac" is a metephor for how things have changed too. A Dead Head sticker used to be a sign of rebelling and there it is on a nice car that a lot of people want; exactly what the sticker was rebelling against. It's ironic. It's not longer a sign of rebelling. It's now become part of the consumer world. Ultimately, he doesn't want to look back to his love because that means looking back onto his past too. It's too late to look back kind of. But he can still see her. He still loves her