I think both interpretations are good (the 9/11 interpretation and the suicide interpretation). I tend to agree with the latter. When I first heard the song I got the feeling that it was about a depressed guy who throws in the towel and ends his life. The utter emptiness in the statement "I am the nothing man" really gets to me, definitely a feeling I can relate to. I could be totally off on this one, but I think the "pearl and silver" line might be a reference to a pearl-handled pistol.
I think both interpretations are good (the 9/11 interpretation and the suicide interpretation). I tend to agree with the latter. When I first heard the song I got the feeling that it was about a depressed guy who throws in the towel and ends his life. The utter emptiness in the statement "I am the nothing man" really gets to me, definitely a feeling I can relate to. I could be totally off on this one, but I think the "pearl and silver" line might be a reference to a pearl-handled pistol.