This whole album is a breakup album - some songs sad, some angry. I think this one is a bit more reflective, but also angry. The girl he was with has left him, and is out partying ("your party dress is such a mess"), traveling ("you wake around in other towns") and having fun without him. They had been together with the idea of growing old together, marriage, kids, whatever...."the dream you sold me," and she changed her mind. "You don't know what you want"...and there is a danger in not knowing what you want because you are kind of floundering..
In a way the sentiment reminds me of "Wild World" by Cat Stevens - singing a warning song to a young woman about how the world may seem to smile upon you now, but watch out: your enemies will laugh and watch you fall. The warning is partially true, but coming from a jaded man who is heartbroken and using a lecture to try and rationalize his pain.
This whole album is a breakup album - some songs sad, some angry. I think this one is a bit more reflective, but also angry. The girl he was with has left him, and is out partying ("your party dress is such a mess"), traveling ("you wake around in other towns") and having fun without him. They had been together with the idea of growing old together, marriage, kids, whatever...."the dream you sold me," and she changed her mind. "You don't know what you want"...and there is a danger in not knowing what you want because you are kind of floundering..
In a way the sentiment reminds me of "Wild World" by Cat Stevens - singing a warning song to a young woman about how the world may seem to smile upon you now, but watch out: your enemies will laugh and watch you fall. The warning is partially true, but coming from a jaded man who is heartbroken and using a lecture to try and rationalize his pain.