The whole song is about Mat's search for a handle on life. The entire song is really summed up in the last couple of lines of the first verse. At first he remembers the past, when he was a kid and faced all the things he faced. He remembers his father telling him he'd never make it through, that he'd always fail. He remembers the ridicule from his peers and the ever pressing desire just to fit in.
Then, the song seems to switch gears. In the second half of the song Mat's older and he comes upon this horrific scene. You can even notice the change in how the music sounds. He's struck by how easily that could have been him. The jeering voices have quieted now for him, but he relates to this kid who's taken the other option, suicide. But, he remarks, it's not like those days when his father looked down on him. I think it's a bit sarcastic, though and he's saying that really not that much has changed. He's actually still afraid of his dad, he just doesn't have to admit it anymore. Instead of going to a friends party and landing a "holy kiss," he could've went out to the bridge.
The whole song is about Mat's search for a handle on life. The entire song is really summed up in the last couple of lines of the first verse. At first he remembers the past, when he was a kid and faced all the things he faced. He remembers his father telling him he'd never make it through, that he'd always fail. He remembers the ridicule from his peers and the ever pressing desire just to fit in. Then, the song seems to switch gears. In the second half of the song Mat's older and he comes upon this horrific scene. You can even notice the change in how the music sounds. He's struck by how easily that could have been him. The jeering voices have quieted now for him, but he relates to this kid who's taken the other option, suicide. But, he remarks, it's not like those days when his father looked down on him. I think it's a bit sarcastic, though and he's saying that really not that much has changed. He's actually still afraid of his dad, he just doesn't have to admit it anymore. Instead of going to a friends party and landing a "holy kiss," he could've went out to the bridge.