I am fairly certain that this song was highly inspired by Kierkegaard's Either/Or. Like myself, Elliott was a philosophy student and was most likely a fan of Kierkegaard's work since he even mentions that the album Either/Or was named after the book by Kierkegaard.
The book is basically a comparison between the aesthetic and ethical lifestyles. The aesthete, named A, writes about boredom and always searching for something new to occupy time with. The ethical character, Judge Vilhelm, writes letters to A in hopes of showing him how the ethical lifestyle is better.
The line "I'll write the pages you tear out" makes me think about the aesthete denying what the ethical character proposes.
Then you have Elliott's interpretation and experiences added to the mix, and you have this amazing song.
I am fairly certain that this song was highly inspired by Kierkegaard's Either/Or. Like myself, Elliott was a philosophy student and was most likely a fan of Kierkegaard's work since he even mentions that the album Either/Or was named after the book by Kierkegaard.
The book is basically a comparison between the aesthetic and ethical lifestyles. The aesthete, named A, writes about boredom and always searching for something new to occupy time with. The ethical character, Judge Vilhelm, writes letters to A in hopes of showing him how the ethical lifestyle is better.
The line "I'll write the pages you tear out" makes me think about the aesthete denying what the ethical character proposes.
Then you have Elliott's interpretation and experiences added to the mix, and you have this amazing song.