Loss

I don't see how no one has cared to analyze this song! It's beautiful! In the beginning, John is reflecting on his past. He makes the music that divides us. Although it's often depressing and we can cry to it, we still are moved and uplifted. The wars he refers to are his personal trials and tribulations, forever locked in song lyrics for us. He feels that this is important, sharing his ordeals with us. There was a dark time in his life when he didn't have any direction or meaning. It was unorganized, filled with death. Things have opened up, and now he has a new life to look forward to. He never said to do anything but forget the old John. There are so many new things to discover! But at the same time, everything he's ever learned has come from the losses and despair in his life. He acknowledges that these things cannot be completely forgotten at all. I'm still unclear about Long Town and the references to that place, but it seems like it was an unhappy time where people made wrong assumptions and hurled insults at one another. There is something to be learned from it, but he forgets it. He is trying to communicate it toward the end. Just as there is an inner cost to everything we learn, we "give for everything we're getting." Any unresolved emotions are locked away to build up until they explode some day. He ends by imploring us to forget him, and to forgive him. He is already long gone, but one day he'll be back when you least expect it. You'll look up and down and pinch yourself to be sure it isn't a dream. He'll be there with the answers.

It's probably far-fetched, but please comment and let me know what you think. I'd love to get inside John's head just to understand these crazy lyrics. But until then, I'm relying on you to help me analyze them...