The singer and the girl in this song don't seem to have much of a history together, and it appears the breakup is hurting the guy more than the girl. Maybe that's why he's leaving in the middle of the night. For years I thought the lyrics were a little over the top, but the hyperbole is surely by design. This is a monologue, an internal pep talk to give himself the strength to break away for an unsatisfying situation. I think he'd never say these things to the girl's face in the light of the day, but from "the dark side of the road" before the "rooster crows" "it's alright", and just the word the guy needs to hear.
The singer and the girl in this song don't seem to have much of a history together, and it appears the breakup is hurting the guy more than the girl. Maybe that's why he's leaving in the middle of the night. For years I thought the lyrics were a little over the top, but the hyperbole is surely by design. This is a monologue, an internal pep talk to give himself the strength to break away for an unsatisfying situation. I think he'd never say these things to the girl's face in the light of the day, but from "the dark side of the road" before the "rooster crows" "it's alright", and just the word the guy needs to hear.