I think everyone is on point about the song being sung from someone who doesn't have a very clear memory of the 60's. But is there any chance the "purple toupee and gold lame" might be connecting the two eras through homosexuality? Perhaps that is farfetched, but one of the critical issues of the 60's was race (along with war). In the late 80's racial issues were still big, but discrimination against homosexuality (especially after AIDS started becoming prevalent) was an even bigger equality issue.
The irony is the narrator doesn't have a strong knowledge of the previous related movements (race equality, hippies). The final line is about the fight for equality continuing.
But I also think the angle of the narrator going from hippie to yuppie is a strong possibility.
I think everyone is on point about the song being sung from someone who doesn't have a very clear memory of the 60's. But is there any chance the "purple toupee and gold lame" might be connecting the two eras through homosexuality? Perhaps that is farfetched, but one of the critical issues of the 60's was race (along with war). In the late 80's racial issues were still big, but discrimination against homosexuality (especially after AIDS started becoming prevalent) was an even bigger equality issue.
The irony is the narrator doesn't have a strong knowledge of the previous related movements (race equality, hippies). The final line is about the fight for equality continuing.
But I also think the angle of the narrator going from hippie to yuppie is a strong possibility.