Some of this makes sense in an environmental sense. In the first stanza he's young and willing to fight for the bigger causes (changing the world), but, toward the end he realizes he can't make a difference no matter how hard he tries so he just gives up trying and accepts that he can't create real change. This verse, if taken literally, could be seen as a reference to pollution: "the sky is wrecked, full of rotting clouds from chimney mouths spewing smoke around and I can't stop coughing". And the imagery of a "bird caught in the wires" pits nature against technology (electric wires). I interpret this song as a person who found strength in the optimism and idealism of a lover who he joined in a fight to make the world a better place. Once the lover left, he became jaded and wasn't able to believe he had the ability to impact anything and gave up trying.
Some of this makes sense in an environmental sense. In the first stanza he's young and willing to fight for the bigger causes (changing the world), but, toward the end he realizes he can't make a difference no matter how hard he tries so he just gives up trying and accepts that he can't create real change. This verse, if taken literally, could be seen as a reference to pollution: "the sky is wrecked, full of rotting clouds from chimney mouths spewing smoke around and I can't stop coughing". And the imagery of a "bird caught in the wires" pits nature against technology (electric wires). I interpret this song as a person who found strength in the optimism and idealism of a lover who he joined in a fight to make the world a better place. Once the lover left, he became jaded and wasn't able to believe he had the ability to impact anything and gave up trying.