This is just my stab in the dark while jonesin' from a cup of coffee, but could it possibly be about his grandfather? I read one of the comments suggesting it's about someone who died. Perhaps Grandpa "Johnny" and Brian sat around listening to music and talking about the problems in America, "And I'm still here singin', Thinking about the government, In my old man shoes, And how you'd understand that."
What made me think of this whole spiel was the line, "84 takes a lifetime." It may actually be the age when his grandpa died, so the line could be literally saying 84 years was his life. Granted, I know nothing about Brian's family, so like I said: stab in the dark.
This is just my stab in the dark while jonesin' from a cup of coffee, but could it possibly be about his grandfather? I read one of the comments suggesting it's about someone who died. Perhaps Grandpa "Johnny" and Brian sat around listening to music and talking about the problems in America, "And I'm still here singin', Thinking about the government, In my old man shoes, And how you'd understand that."
What made me think of this whole spiel was the line, "84 takes a lifetime." It may actually be the age when his grandpa died, so the line could be literally saying 84 years was his life. Granted, I know nothing about Brian's family, so like I said: stab in the dark.