the verses' melodies evoke memories of the rolling stones' beast of burden, and are a perfect lyrical balance of suggestive subtlety without being too impenetrable.
the song, to me, slides between a metaphoric car crash (in the lyrics here, it is important to note that "my first kiss" is actually "my first car") involving the girl singing in the wreckage, as the refrain suggests, which underlies the theme of growing out of youth. the metaphor which encapsulates this theme resounds in the line "it's my primary instinct to protect the child", which cleverly utilizes a second meaning which alludes to the theme in the word "child". the metaphor is also evident in the imagery of torn dresses, the world smashing open, hitting the ground, ETC.
the verses' melodies evoke memories of the rolling stones' beast of burden, and are a perfect lyrical balance of suggestive subtlety without being too impenetrable. the song, to me, slides between a metaphoric car crash (in the lyrics here, it is important to note that "my first kiss" is actually "my first car") involving the girl singing in the wreckage, as the refrain suggests, which underlies the theme of growing out of youth. the metaphor which encapsulates this theme resounds in the line "it's my primary instinct to protect the child", which cleverly utilizes a second meaning which alludes to the theme in the word "child". the metaphor is also evident in the imagery of torn dresses, the world smashing open, hitting the ground, ETC.