I have almost the exact same interpretation of the song that you do. The pawn broker part is pretty easy, obviously, but I find it truly amazing that both of us came to the same conclusion about the Nazi officer and the watch from just a few words. To me, that is a testament to Mark's skill as a lyricist--not to make us understand what he is trying to say--but to get more than one of us to have the same interpretation with so very little to go on is a feat unto itself.
I think the part about dying and going to heaven or hell is a tricky bit to reconcile, because I've always thought of the old man as being a widower in the top 2/3 of the song. By the end, it's unclear who he's talking about when he says "if one of us dies, love". Perhaps his wife is still around, and he's suggesting that if she dies before him, he has no wish to live without her, "I think I'll retire". But the next part is even trickier, depending on how you identify the other person in the "one of us" line. I think the part about going to "see my boys and my beautiful girls" in conjunction with his description of the Garden of Eden as a place with "no gates or barbed wire" could be a reference to friends left behind in concentration camps that weren't as fortunate as he was to escape it all.
Anyway, just thought I would add my two cents into the mix.
danltd-
I have almost the exact same interpretation of the song that you do. The pawn broker part is pretty easy, obviously, but I find it truly amazing that both of us came to the same conclusion about the Nazi officer and the watch from just a few words. To me, that is a testament to Mark's skill as a lyricist--not to make us understand what he is trying to say--but to get more than one of us to have the same interpretation with so very little to go on is a feat unto itself.
I think the part about dying and going to heaven or hell is a tricky bit to reconcile, because I've always thought of the old man as being a widower in the top 2/3 of the song. By the end, it's unclear who he's talking about when he says "if one of us dies, love". Perhaps his wife is still around, and he's suggesting that if she dies before him, he has no wish to live without her, "I think I'll retire". But the next part is even trickier, depending on how you identify the other person in the "one of us" line. I think the part about going to "see my boys and my beautiful girls" in conjunction with his description of the Garden of Eden as a place with "no gates or barbed wire" could be a reference to friends left behind in concentration camps that weren't as fortunate as he was to escape it all.
Anyway, just thought I would add my two cents into the mix.
Thanks.