I don't see the protagonist as having been a bad father. I simply see a man who's finally happy. He understands that his dad was a bad one, and hopes he doesn't have the same negative impact on his kids.
"If I had one wish in this God-forsaken world kids, it's that your mistakes will be your own", an obvious reference to the idea presented in "Adam Raised a Cain" 30 years earlier, which itself was an excellent representation of the Biblical story of "the Fall", and what came with it for mankind.
And instead of being a sequel to "Straight Time", I see this as a sequel to "Beautiful Reward". It's been a long time coming, but he's found his reward.
In that song he says he didn't find his reward in romantic love, but in this song it seems he has. However he's obviously made a big change, and that's presented in the first verse. He's buried his old soul, his self-centered soul that was looking at love selfishly, as something that would make himself fulfilled., and he finally found his reward in "Long Time Coming" when he realized it's found in sacrifice, devotion to others (wife and family) ahead of devotion to his own wants and needs.
I don't see the protagonist as having been a bad father. I simply see a man who's finally happy. He understands that his dad was a bad one, and hopes he doesn't have the same negative impact on his kids. "If I had one wish in this God-forsaken world kids, it's that your mistakes will be your own", an obvious reference to the idea presented in "Adam Raised a Cain" 30 years earlier, which itself was an excellent representation of the Biblical story of "the Fall", and what came with it for mankind.
And instead of being a sequel to "Straight Time", I see this as a sequel to "Beautiful Reward". It's been a long time coming, but he's found his reward.
In that song he says he didn't find his reward in romantic love, but in this song it seems he has. However he's obviously made a big change, and that's presented in the first verse. He's buried his old soul, his self-centered soul that was looking at love selfishly, as something that would make himself fulfilled., and he finally found his reward in "Long Time Coming" when he realized it's found in sacrifice, devotion to others (wife and family) ahead of devotion to his own wants and needs.