If we interpret this as a take on love, I think we can read it as a declaration of unintentional love which appeared in the middle of an affair. Started as a physical attraction-driven romance, this relationship eventually evolved into a commited one. The singer says that he planned to sleep around with a girl but somehow he began having trascedent feelings for her and so he couldn't make love with her prior to establishing a relationship; hence the "I thought I'd have you by now/But sentiment got in the way, dear" verses.
He cannot even begin to identify the moment he fell in love, which came just like the flooding on a hurricane: "And tell me... When did the water surround me?".
Once again, I believe that not all songs have a narrative or coherent meaning, but this is my guess at this one.
If we interpret this as a take on love, I think we can read it as a declaration of unintentional love which appeared in the middle of an affair. Started as a physical attraction-driven romance, this relationship eventually evolved into a commited one. The singer says that he planned to sleep around with a girl but somehow he began having trascedent feelings for her and so he couldn't make love with her prior to establishing a relationship; hence the "I thought I'd have you by now/But sentiment got in the way, dear" verses. He cannot even begin to identify the moment he fell in love, which came just like the flooding on a hurricane: "And tell me... When did the water surround me?".
Once again, I believe that not all songs have a narrative or coherent meaning, but this is my guess at this one.