I think this song deals with how men might fall for a woman, and in doing so kind of gives a weird and antimagical description of what love is.
Men see the girl's special charms that she will put on to appear to be something special, or lovable, or different, or having a peculiar something that the men find transcendent in a person (stop me when you get the gist...). But, being humans with brains and memories and deduction skills, they know inside that this air of magic and otherness that the girl acts with is just an act, and they know (at least partially) that it's their role to ignore the reality of it and pretend to believe that a girl is so special until they can tell themselves with confidence that it's love: "Had they forgotten ... what this all means? / I think they want to forget / And they hope that this time..."
The narrator in the song sings this observation. It seems he wants to be better than that - to be true to himself and ignore the fake love that's been perpetuated through our history as a species: "(And they) set an example for us"
But.. the narrator is a man, and a lonesome one, just like the other men. He attempts to delude himself, 'well maybe there is love... there's so many other people who seem to be in love': men in couples all over "set an example for us-- I see it!. It can happen to me too." And by the end, despite his knowledge of the fakeness of love (similarly to every other person he's singing to and singing about, he tells himself with as much assertiveness as he can fake to himself that he does believe in love, for "I won't be neglected (not this time!)"
I think this song deals with how men might fall for a woman, and in doing so kind of gives a weird and antimagical description of what love is.
Men see the girl's special charms that she will put on to appear to be something special, or lovable, or different, or having a peculiar something that the men find transcendent in a person (stop me when you get the gist...). But, being humans with brains and memories and deduction skills, they know inside that this air of magic and otherness that the girl acts with is just an act, and they know (at least partially) that it's their role to ignore the reality of it and pretend to believe that a girl is so special until they can tell themselves with confidence that it's love: "Had they forgotten ... what this all means? / I think they want to forget / And they hope that this time..."
The narrator in the song sings this observation. It seems he wants to be better than that - to be true to himself and ignore the fake love that's been perpetuated through our history as a species: "(And they) set an example for us"
But.. the narrator is a man, and a lonesome one, just like the other men. He attempts to delude himself, 'well maybe there is love... there's so many other people who seem to be in love': men in couples all over "set an example for us-- I see it!. It can happen to me too." And by the end, despite his knowledge of the fakeness of love (similarly to every other person he's singing to and singing about, he tells himself with as much assertiveness as he can fake to himself that he does believe in love, for "I won't be neglected (not this time!)"