This is probably a bit of stretch but considering that this song is a continuation of "Wondring Aloud" which was on the Aqualung album, I always thought this song is yet another political protest about the government's handling of the homeless. However, I do like "Ovichsan's" theory.
But to continue with my thought; I believe that Ian is using the government's handling of the homeless as a metaphor for evil. So evidence to that would be the line "Those without homes dig yourself holes" and "Those without sandwiches get off the bus"
When he sings "we wandered through..." he is singing the part of a homeless person at the beginning of winter. Obviusly the winter brings "seclusion" to the streets.
I think the child he refers too is Jesus. I always considered this part of the song to be the homeless person searching for the good forces to fight the evil (government).
This is probably a bit of stretch but considering that this song is a continuation of "Wondring Aloud" which was on the Aqualung album, I always thought this song is yet another political protest about the government's handling of the homeless. However, I do like "Ovichsan's" theory. But to continue with my thought; I believe that Ian is using the government's handling of the homeless as a metaphor for evil. So evidence to that would be the line "Those without homes dig yourself holes" and "Those without sandwiches get off the bus" When he sings "we wandered through..." he is singing the part of a homeless person at the beginning of winter. Obviusly the winter brings "seclusion" to the streets. I think the child he refers too is Jesus. I always considered this part of the song to be the homeless person searching for the good forces to fight the evil (government).