The song is clearly about suicide. The first 100 times I heard the song, I didn't listen to the lyrics, and thought it was just a pleasant song. But just one listen reveals a very clear story and theme.
The singer is addressing a friend who, over the course of the song, kills himself.
Verse 1: The singer is telling his friend to relax and let his troubles go. Singer alludes to death in the last lines of this verse.
Verse 2: The singer is contrasting his contented (self-absorbed?) life activities with the friend's sudden jarring suicide attempt.
Verse 3: The singer realizes the urgency of things, and addresses the dying friend, bargaining to try and keep him around, and apologizing for not seeing the signs.
Verse 4: The singer is walking past dead friend's house, thinking about how everybody (including himself) ignored his friend and his emotional needs.
I think he realized the urgency all along, but felt helpless to do anything. on some level he understands his friend's despair.
I think there is a jump back in time after the bridge. "later on as I walked home" refers to later in the day, right after their beach excursion.
I think he realized the urgency all along, but felt helpless to do anything. on some level he understands his friend's despair.
I think there is a jump back in time after the bridge. "later on as I walked home" refers to later in the day, right after their beach excursion.
The song is clearly about suicide. The first 100 times I heard the song, I didn't listen to the lyrics, and thought it was just a pleasant song. But just one listen reveals a very clear story and theme.
The singer is addressing a friend who, over the course of the song, kills himself.
Verse 1: The singer is telling his friend to relax and let his troubles go. Singer alludes to death in the last lines of this verse.
Verse 2: The singer is contrasting his contented (self-absorbed?) life activities with the friend's sudden jarring suicide attempt.
Verse 3: The singer realizes the urgency of things, and addresses the dying friend, bargaining to try and keep him around, and apologizing for not seeing the signs.
Verse 4: The singer is walking past dead friend's house, thinking about how everybody (including himself) ignored his friend and his emotional needs.
I think he realized the urgency all along, but felt helpless to do anything. on some level he understands his friend's despair. I think there is a jump back in time after the bridge. "later on as I walked home" refers to later in the day, right after their beach excursion.
I think he realized the urgency all along, but felt helpless to do anything. on some level he understands his friend's despair. I think there is a jump back in time after the bridge. "later on as I walked home" refers to later in the day, right after their beach excursion.