I agree with the interpretation that the singer is singing to someone who came through some bad experiences early in life, but "lived to tell about it."
For me, the key lines are "born on your feet, running forest fires underneath your bed." Born on your feet suggests that the singer's friend had to grow up fast, and deal with things that most of us were, hopefully, sheltered from. Forest fires underneath you bed could mean something more specific, maybe even as extreme as sexual abuse or violence. But to me it suggests that, whatever the specific problem or torment was, how sad that even a place that is supposed to feel safe and warm like your own bed was not safe- did not feel safe- because the ever-present danger or torment was always that close.
I think that is why this song is so moving- because all of us can relate to that safe place that we had, or wished we had, in our childhood, protected by our covers, our room, our house, our dog, and our parents. But many of us also remember the things that tormented and threatened us when we were children, and have memories of bringing those fears to bed with us, and trying to forget them in the darkness of the night. This connection makes the song real, and since the song seems to have a happy ending "you made it out alive," we can relate happily to that too.
I agree with the interpretation that the singer is singing to someone who came through some bad experiences early in life, but "lived to tell about it."
For me, the key lines are "born on your feet, running forest fires underneath your bed." Born on your feet suggests that the singer's friend had to grow up fast, and deal with things that most of us were, hopefully, sheltered from. Forest fires underneath you bed could mean something more specific, maybe even as extreme as sexual abuse or violence. But to me it suggests that, whatever the specific problem or torment was, how sad that even a place that is supposed to feel safe and warm like your own bed was not safe- did not feel safe- because the ever-present danger or torment was always that close.
I think that is why this song is so moving- because all of us can relate to that safe place that we had, or wished we had, in our childhood, protected by our covers, our room, our house, our dog, and our parents. But many of us also remember the things that tormented and threatened us when we were children, and have memories of bringing those fears to bed with us, and trying to forget them in the darkness of the night. This connection makes the song real, and since the song seems to have a happy ending "you made it out alive," we can relate happily to that too.