I wrote an essay on they lyrical interpretaion of this song so i will just post part of the essay:
This song is about a dysfunctional relationship between a son and father. It is written from the son’s point of view, when his father comes home to die and is on his deathbed. The father is asking his son for forgiveness for the years of bad feelings between the two, the son does not know what to make of the situation.
“This old man comes rolling home to die
Old feelings make it hard to decide just what it means to me.”
It is not easy for the father to talk about his feeling like this, and the emotions from the father surprises the son, because he does not usually see an emotional or sincere side from his father, as seen in the following lines:
“If I seem surprised to see you lying here in front of me
Just consider what you're asking and give me a little time
I'm still having trouble breathing 'cause up to now I've never seen you cry”
The father has wanted to articulate his feeling for years, but has never been able to, especially because of the distant relationship between the two, and the alcoholism by the father, but the son is ready to hear what his father has to say now. The wall he puts up through drinking has always fogged the truth.
“He's been practicing for decades
But I am listening this time
He flows in and out of riddles
Stories change without the wine
But at least he seems much clearer on how it feels to be my size”
A lot of time has passed since the two have had feuds, but it is not completely clear if the son forgives his father before he dies. The repetition of “Just what he means to me” at the end, makes it seem as though the son forgave him, and his father is more important to him that he first realized.
I wrote an essay on they lyrical interpretaion of this song so i will just post part of the essay:
This song is about a dysfunctional relationship between a son and father. It is written from the son’s point of view, when his father comes home to die and is on his deathbed. The father is asking his son for forgiveness for the years of bad feelings between the two, the son does not know what to make of the situation.
“This old man comes rolling home to die Old feelings make it hard to decide just what it means to me.”
It is not easy for the father to talk about his feeling like this, and the emotions from the father surprises the son, because he does not usually see an emotional or sincere side from his father, as seen in the following lines: “If I seem surprised to see you lying here in front of me Just consider what you're asking and give me a little time I'm still having trouble breathing 'cause up to now I've never seen you cry” The father has wanted to articulate his feeling for years, but has never been able to, especially because of the distant relationship between the two, and the alcoholism by the father, but the son is ready to hear what his father has to say now. The wall he puts up through drinking has always fogged the truth. “He's been practicing for decades But I am listening this time He flows in and out of riddles Stories change without the wine But at least he seems much clearer on how it feels to be my size” A lot of time has passed since the two have had feuds, but it is not completely clear if the son forgives his father before he dies. The repetition of “Just what he means to me” at the end, makes it seem as though the son forgave him, and his father is more important to him that he first realized.