Presentation of characters:
"As merry as the days were long
I am right and you were long
back at the old grey school
I would win and you would lose
But you've got everything now
you've got everything now
and what a terrible mess I've made of my life
oh what a mess I've made of my life"
Person 1: The well-to-do character that is being sung to.
Person 2: The protagoinst, a person that "hasn't done too good in life", but still feels superior to this other person.
"No, I've never had a job
because I've never wanted one
I've seen you smile
but I've never really heard you laugh
so who is rich and who is poor?
I cannot say..."
Here, the accuser questions whether the other person really has succeeded in life, or maybe still is the loser.
"You are your Mother's only son
and you're a desperate one
but I don't want a lover
I just want to be seen
in the back of your car"
The "in the back of your car" lines and the others, to me, suggest that this other person could be a famous person, i.e. a movie star, and that the protagonist exploits him. This famous person is probably looking for love, but the main character just wants to blackmail him or get attention from the media; in order to ruin the other's life or just for the attention.
"A friendship sadly lost?
well, this is true
and yet, it's false
but did I ever tell you, by the way
I never did like your face"
Speaks for itself. Their "friendship" really never did mean anything.
I can't really work out why the last line, "I just want to be tied / To the back of your car" is changed from "I just want to be seen / In the back of your car", but it could mean nothing. I don't know.
OK, my take on the meaning of these lyrics:
Presentation of characters: "As merry as the days were long I am right and you were long back at the old grey school I would win and you would lose
But you've got everything now you've got everything now and what a terrible mess I've made of my life oh what a mess I've made of my life"
Person 1: The well-to-do character that is being sung to. Person 2: The protagoinst, a person that "hasn't done too good in life", but still feels superior to this other person.
"No, I've never had a job because I've never wanted one I've seen you smile but I've never really heard you laugh so who is rich and who is poor? I cannot say..."
Here, the accuser questions whether the other person really has succeeded in life, or maybe still is the loser.
"You are your Mother's only son and you're a desperate one but I don't want a lover I just want to be seen in the back of your car"
The "in the back of your car" lines and the others, to me, suggest that this other person could be a famous person, i.e. a movie star, and that the protagonist exploits him. This famous person is probably looking for love, but the main character just wants to blackmail him or get attention from the media; in order to ruin the other's life or just for the attention.
"A friendship sadly lost? well, this is true and yet, it's false but did I ever tell you, by the way I never did like your face"
Speaks for itself. Their "friendship" really never did mean anything.
I can't really work out why the last line, "I just want to be tied / To the back of your car" is changed from "I just want to be seen / In the back of your car", but it could mean nothing. I don't know.