Sure, it seems like a song about Jimmy and Julie living in abject poverty - 'til the line, "Ever since they tore the jukebox down". This line suggests the song is set in a post-apocalyptic town, perhaps, or a post-anarchy town - Jimmy and Julie live in a village that has been ravaged by something (let's call it The Event, for the sake of convenience) that has supplanted modes of playing music.
They're living slowly, day-by-day, subsisting - a pace of life reflected in the song's stately pace. Since The Event, they've been living off rabbits; Julie's tried to run away, to escape, but she couldn't - the effects of The Event were too widespread, and anyway, she needs Jimmy just as much as Jimmy needs her.
Jimmy, the stoic optimist, tells Julie not to "hang [her] head", as moping won't help them get by - they should "let the two-time roll" (two-time being a triple-entendre, I think - it's a dance, i.e. they're sort of slow-dancing their way through life, but also the 'two' suggests that the pair have each other, and no-one else. A third possible interpretation is that Julie has two-timed Jimmy - but we'll get to that interpretation later.) Naturally, everything is made more difficult by the fact that there's no music (no jukeboxes), except for the song that Jimmy's singing - the song that helps them get by.
Jimmy's rowing himself and Julie down the metaphorical river of life - seemingly to some sort of afterlife. It's a "common way to go"; 'common' could also be a double-entendre (it's 'common' because everyone since The Event is just rowing, fatalistically, towards death/afterlife; but, since 'common' can also mean 'poor', it could suggest that commoners are forced to merely row, while the richer people can sail by on their yachts - although they, too, are headed for death/afterlife).
The whole interpretation of the song may change if we interpret 'two time' as Julie having cheated on Jimmy - in which case, they're living in spiritual misery. They may as well be living in literal poverty - the cheating has brought their world crashing down. Even the jukeboxes may as well have been torn down, for all the good the music's doing the couple. Still, there's a sense of optimism - they're rowing their way towards a paired salvation, a state of mind in which they've got over the cheating.
@as2191 I think you're interpretation is very valid I like the fact that you said that there's more than one interpretation is there are many diverse paths in life. I believe that we're all on parallel pathways to somewhere, be in heaven or hell. Maybe they're the same place?
@as2191 I think you're interpretation is very valid I like the fact that you said that there's more than one interpretation is there are many diverse paths in life. I believe that we're all on parallel pathways to somewhere, be in heaven or hell. Maybe they're the same place?
Sure, it seems like a song about Jimmy and Julie living in abject poverty - 'til the line, "Ever since they tore the jukebox down". This line suggests the song is set in a post-apocalyptic town, perhaps, or a post-anarchy town - Jimmy and Julie live in a village that has been ravaged by something (let's call it The Event, for the sake of convenience) that has supplanted modes of playing music.
They're living slowly, day-by-day, subsisting - a pace of life reflected in the song's stately pace. Since The Event, they've been living off rabbits; Julie's tried to run away, to escape, but she couldn't - the effects of The Event were too widespread, and anyway, she needs Jimmy just as much as Jimmy needs her.
Jimmy, the stoic optimist, tells Julie not to "hang [her] head", as moping won't help them get by - they should "let the two-time roll" (two-time being a triple-entendre, I think - it's a dance, i.e. they're sort of slow-dancing their way through life, but also the 'two' suggests that the pair have each other, and no-one else. A third possible interpretation is that Julie has two-timed Jimmy - but we'll get to that interpretation later.) Naturally, everything is made more difficult by the fact that there's no music (no jukeboxes), except for the song that Jimmy's singing - the song that helps them get by.
Jimmy's rowing himself and Julie down the metaphorical river of life - seemingly to some sort of afterlife. It's a "common way to go"; 'common' could also be a double-entendre (it's 'common' because everyone since The Event is just rowing, fatalistically, towards death/afterlife; but, since 'common' can also mean 'poor', it could suggest that commoners are forced to merely row, while the richer people can sail by on their yachts - although they, too, are headed for death/afterlife).
The whole interpretation of the song may change if we interpret 'two time' as Julie having cheated on Jimmy - in which case, they're living in spiritual misery. They may as well be living in literal poverty - the cheating has brought their world crashing down. Even the jukeboxes may as well have been torn down, for all the good the music's doing the couple. Still, there's a sense of optimism - they're rowing their way towards a paired salvation, a state of mind in which they've got over the cheating.
Anyway - those are my two cents. :)
@as2191 Fantastic interpretation!
@as2191 Fantastic interpretation!
@as2191 I think you're interpretation is very valid I like the fact that you said that there's more than one interpretation is there are many diverse paths in life. I believe that we're all on parallel pathways to somewhere, be in heaven or hell. Maybe they're the same place?
@as2191 I think you're interpretation is very valid I like the fact that you said that there's more than one interpretation is there are many diverse paths in life. I believe that we're all on parallel pathways to somewhere, be in heaven or hell. Maybe they're the same place?