To me, the song has to do with the coming of a New Age, an age that might be just a little too magical/mystical for most pedestrian minds. The Reaper analogy refers to the loss of your all-too-human and obsolete soul, in favor of one that turns you into a true "natural" entity. "Valentine is done" is a reference to the fact that supposedly, under this new scheme-of-things, you'll likely be party to a gruesome perhaps bloody revolution that will finally end the old regime; as that was the fiercely-held belief of the day, back then.
Ah, but it was only a pipe-dream that fell through. There was no great revolution and when Reagan was shot, everybody promptly forgot about the coming of a New Age and reverted to cowardice and conservatism. This strong belief that Nature (or "the piper) was going to reward those who are lucky and/or "stand long" (phrase from a different song of the same era) -- well, it got dissolute and died.
To me, the song has to do with the coming of a New Age, an age that might be just a little too magical/mystical for most pedestrian minds. The Reaper analogy refers to the loss of your all-too-human and obsolete soul, in favor of one that turns you into a true "natural" entity. "Valentine is done" is a reference to the fact that supposedly, under this new scheme-of-things, you'll likely be party to a gruesome perhaps bloody revolution that will finally end the old regime; as that was the fiercely-held belief of the day, back then.
Ah, but it was only a pipe-dream that fell through. There was no great revolution and when Reagan was shot, everybody promptly forgot about the coming of a New Age and reverted to cowardice and conservatism. This strong belief that Nature (or "the piper) was going to reward those who are lucky and/or "stand long" (phrase from a different song of the same era) -- well, it got dissolute and died.