To me it sounds like he's singing about a relationship, but starting as a kid and ending up as an adult. i would say he starts when he is a teenager. sounds like the kind of infatuation you have in your younger years. thats why he has all the child like metaphors "There's a bug inside the thimble, there's a band-aid on her thumb", "To be barefoot on the driveway as they wave and ride away Then to run inside and curse the open door", "To be free atop a tree stump and to look the other way". it would seem the belated promise ring is another metaphor for the whole story. From what i can see, he cared for her more than she cared for him at the time, which i presume was them still as children. therefore he gave her the ring as to say "one day". I think the whole 3rd verse has to do with her being a free spirit and doing her own thing. the last verse seems like the whole story comes full circle, it seems to me that this line "Sunday evening my Rebecca's lost a book she never read, And the moon already fell into the sea" means that there was a path she didnt follow and its too late now to do it. then the next line about the statues and the trees, seems the statues of the fathers is like him saying this has all been done before. and the trees blending in seems to mean that even though she wanted to be free and different, both of them now just blend in with the rest of society. the last couple of lines im not too sure about about the balloon and earning more. it could mean the story has come full circle with their kid and will probably repeat itself. or that he now knows that whatever happens she cares about him enough to so something about it, so in essence the "balloon" is like a problem and she will "earn more" or do something about it if anything happens. well that is just my take lemme know what you think.
To me it sounds like he's singing about a relationship, but starting as a kid and ending up as an adult. i would say he starts when he is a teenager. sounds like the kind of infatuation you have in your younger years. thats why he has all the child like metaphors "There's a bug inside the thimble, there's a band-aid on her thumb", "To be barefoot on the driveway as they wave and ride away Then to run inside and curse the open door", "To be free atop a tree stump and to look the other way". it would seem the belated promise ring is another metaphor for the whole story. From what i can see, he cared for her more than she cared for him at the time, which i presume was them still as children. therefore he gave her the ring as to say "one day". I think the whole 3rd verse has to do with her being a free spirit and doing her own thing. the last verse seems like the whole story comes full circle, it seems to me that this line "Sunday evening my Rebecca's lost a book she never read, And the moon already fell into the sea" means that there was a path she didnt follow and its too late now to do it. then the next line about the statues and the trees, seems the statues of the fathers is like him saying this has all been done before. and the trees blending in seems to mean that even though she wanted to be free and different, both of them now just blend in with the rest of society. the last couple of lines im not too sure about about the balloon and earning more. it could mean the story has come full circle with their kid and will probably repeat itself. or that he now knows that whatever happens she cares about him enough to so something about it, so in essence the "balloon" is like a problem and she will "earn more" or do something about it if anything happens. well that is just my take lemme know what you think.