I doubt this is about a literal person, though it always could just be exaggeration about the love between two people.
I also agree with the idea of him singing about God, or the World in general, much like Cave did on There She Goes My Beautiful World. The idea seems to be that regardless of what happens to you in life, you refuse to stop living it.
Lyrics like "dare me to jump" make sense in that context: the world puts risks and iffy situations in our path, and Waits is saying every time it tempts him like that he's going to give it his all.
That's the way I prefer to read it, anyway. It is just as likely that it's about God or a specific lover.
I doubt this is about a literal person, though it always could just be exaggeration about the love between two people.
I also agree with the idea of him singing about God, or the World in general, much like Cave did on There She Goes My Beautiful World. The idea seems to be that regardless of what happens to you in life, you refuse to stop living it.
Lyrics like "dare me to jump" make sense in that context: the world puts risks and iffy situations in our path, and Waits is saying every time it tempts him like that he's going to give it his all.
That's the way I prefer to read it, anyway. It is just as likely that it's about God or a specific lover.