I think I interpreted this song differently. Straight forward, yes, but that doesn't mean people get it. He talks about everything from Algebra to swimming across the Seine, and that makes me think that he's talking about someone like a best friend he idolizes or an older sibling. If this song refers to a lover, it's one he's known since childhood.
This kind of dynamic happens often, especially among children, where one friend excels and the other drags behind. Or with siblings, where everyone compares them, even their parents, and one, often the elder, is "better."
At first I thought this song talked more about a rival, but a friend makes the most sense on second thought, especially because of the line, "You're the monkey I've got on my back/That tells me to shine." This person does care for and encourage him, even if in the end the speaker always drags behind.
I think I interpreted this song differently. Straight forward, yes, but that doesn't mean people get it. He talks about everything from Algebra to swimming across the Seine, and that makes me think that he's talking about someone like a best friend he idolizes or an older sibling. If this song refers to a lover, it's one he's known since childhood.
This kind of dynamic happens often, especially among children, where one friend excels and the other drags behind. Or with siblings, where everyone compares them, even their parents, and one, often the elder, is "better."
At first I thought this song talked more about a rival, but a friend makes the most sense on second thought, especially because of the line, "You're the monkey I've got on my back/That tells me to shine." This person does care for and encourage him, even if in the end the speaker always drags behind.