I think that he wrote this song in desperation when he was suffering through something regarding his mental state of mind, hence the common reference to being "stuck in a hole," where the hole is actually his mind. When he mentions "oh my star is fading," he is talking about his happiness, and about how it is slowly fading, due to his state of mind. Additionally, he implies that there's no saving himself from this state of depression when he says "I see no chance of release," then says that he is "dead on the surface but screaming underneath," meaning that he may appear dead, and given up on the surface, but underneath it all he is screaming for help. Then when he says "time is on your side," he repeats it more than once, to emphasize that time is on his side, as a way of making himself feel better because he believes time will make his depression better, and the repetition of that phrase shows his desperation, and how hard he is trying to believe that time really will make it better. Then finally, when the song develops a stronger beat, the loudness of the new rhythm implies that he is done, and he can no longer handle it. When he's singing the verse about being "stuck on the end of this ball and chain," then saying how he's "on his way back down again," he literally means that his mental state is bad again, and he's on his way back down, as in being more and more depressed than he originally was. A slight notion of suicide is implied when he describes "standing on the edge, tied to the noose" because he is literally about to commit suicide since he is standing on the edge of jumping from the noose which he is tied to. Then when he says "You can say what you mean, but it won't change a thing," he is saying that no matter what you say, he made up his mind already and is taking his life. Then when he repeats the line "standing on the edge, tied to the noose," again, that just goes to emphasize how sure he is about taking his life. In my opinion, the final line "you came along and you cut me loose" is probably the most important because it is repeated twice as the final two lines of the song, and after he said that no matter what anyone says he is determined to take his life, someone (you) came along and cut him loose from the noose, and saved his life. So, although the majority of the song seemed melancholy, I believe it is about someone who came and saved him from his own mind, and self. This song has helped me in so many ways, I can't even describe.
I think that he wrote this song in desperation when he was suffering through something regarding his mental state of mind, hence the common reference to being "stuck in a hole," where the hole is actually his mind. When he mentions "oh my star is fading," he is talking about his happiness, and about how it is slowly fading, due to his state of mind. Additionally, he implies that there's no saving himself from this state of depression when he says "I see no chance of release," then says that he is "dead on the surface but screaming underneath," meaning that he may appear dead, and given up on the surface, but underneath it all he is screaming for help. Then when he says "time is on your side," he repeats it more than once, to emphasize that time is on his side, as a way of making himself feel better because he believes time will make his depression better, and the repetition of that phrase shows his desperation, and how hard he is trying to believe that time really will make it better. Then finally, when the song develops a stronger beat, the loudness of the new rhythm implies that he is done, and he can no longer handle it. When he's singing the verse about being "stuck on the end of this ball and chain," then saying how he's "on his way back down again," he literally means that his mental state is bad again, and he's on his way back down, as in being more and more depressed than he originally was. A slight notion of suicide is implied when he describes "standing on the edge, tied to the noose" because he is literally about to commit suicide since he is standing on the edge of jumping from the noose which he is tied to. Then when he says "You can say what you mean, but it won't change a thing," he is saying that no matter what you say, he made up his mind already and is taking his life. Then when he repeats the line "standing on the edge, tied to the noose," again, that just goes to emphasize how sure he is about taking his life. In my opinion, the final line "you came along and you cut me loose" is probably the most important because it is repeated twice as the final two lines of the song, and after he said that no matter what anyone says he is determined to take his life, someone (you) came along and cut him loose from the noose, and saved his life. So, although the majority of the song seemed melancholy, I believe it is about someone who came and saved him from his own mind, and self. This song has helped me in so many ways, I can't even describe.