I agree with the prior commentors-- only two comments so far?! Perhaps the most dramatic, near operatic performances of the entire rock era. My take on it though, is the narrator and his new girlfriend are not cheating, but rather he fears she harbors feelings for a former boyfriend. From the lyrics it sounds to me like the former boyfriend is the one who called it quits. ("What would I do If he CAME BACK and wanted you..." "afraid to lose if he CAME BACK which one would you choose...") But the lyrics are ripe for even further speculation. To add a layer of nuance, what if the former boyfriend had not dumped her and had come back from a forced absence, for example serving in the military, college, reform school, jail... whatever. After the long absence the narrator wonders whether his girlfriend's heart grew fonder for the other guy. I love that about about lyrics that, at their surface, are pure and simple like this. They are fertile ground for interpretation and imagination.
I agree with the prior commentors-- only two comments so far?! Perhaps the most dramatic, near operatic performances of the entire rock era. My take on it though, is the narrator and his new girlfriend are not cheating, but rather he fears she harbors feelings for a former boyfriend. From the lyrics it sounds to me like the former boyfriend is the one who called it quits. ("What would I do If he CAME BACK and wanted you..." "afraid to lose if he CAME BACK which one would you choose...") But the lyrics are ripe for even further speculation. To add a layer of nuance, what if the former boyfriend had not dumped her and had come back from a forced absence, for example serving in the military, college, reform school, jail... whatever. After the long absence the narrator wonders whether his girlfriend's heart grew fonder for the other guy. I love that about about lyrics that, at their surface, are pure and simple like this. They are fertile ground for interpretation and imagination.