indeed this song seems to be about convincing a depressed person to open up.
I had to battle depression myself, and i remember one of the most striking features is how it makes one feel so lonely and unreacheable, because there is no way to communicate in words this very subjetive feeling of hopelessness. The temptation to simply isolate from the world and avoid misunderstanding is huge. Depressed people often suffer silently giving very few hints -- "The calling in the dead of night" is a metaphor for that, since the dead of night is a time where people are usually not paying atention to and only those who are awake can listen to subtle noises. A call for help from someone depressed is usually as subtle as that.
The narrator sensibly sees his friend is in pain and worries about that.
He still reminds us even though words cannot describe the whole human experience or express the entire suffering one may be through, they are still "all we have" to make a connection, a meaningful bond with others. Avoiding making that connection in a time of despair will bring no gain and the lonely person will always keep "falling off the fence that way".
indeed this song seems to be about convincing a depressed person to open up. I had to battle depression myself, and i remember one of the most striking features is how it makes one feel so lonely and unreacheable, because there is no way to communicate in words this very subjetive feeling of hopelessness. The temptation to simply isolate from the world and avoid misunderstanding is huge. Depressed people often suffer silently giving very few hints -- "The calling in the dead of night" is a metaphor for that, since the dead of night is a time where people are usually not paying atention to and only those who are awake can listen to subtle noises. A call for help from someone depressed is usually as subtle as that. The narrator sensibly sees his friend is in pain and worries about that. He still reminds us even though words cannot describe the whole human experience or express the entire suffering one may be through, they are still "all we have" to make a connection, a meaningful bond with others. Avoiding making that connection in a time of despair will bring no gain and the lonely person will always keep "falling off the fence that way".