A hint to this song's meaning is given in the name of the album itself: "ape of Naples". What does it mean to 'ape'? It means to imitate someone absurdly, or without logic. The man with "the same tattoos" as the narrator is the one aping him, and the narrator loves him. Tattoos in this case are used as a metaphor for sexual orientation.
The man with the "different set of sex aspects" (this I interpret as different sexual orientation than the narrator) is the one the narrator hates. However, an important detail here is that the one the narrator hates is also the one lying in bed (possibly with some sexual connotation), while the one the narrator loves is the one lying in a grave. This can possibly mean that certain people with specific sexual orientations don't ever get to experience the wonder of love and sex with another person of their same orientation, perhaps through circumstances out of their control.
One detail that greatly seems to support the above is the phrase "pining like a dog". From google, to pine means to: "suffer a mental and physical decline, especially because of a broken heart."
So the man the narrator loves is dead, either literally or figuratively (my guess is figuratively, as the whole song seems to suggest the narrator's hope for love will never reach fruition). This is confirmed with the phrase "This is the dark age of love". He wouldn't have used the term "dark age" for some temporary form of lovelessness, which is why I think the narrator suffers from a permanent affliction.
Another clue to support the above claims is the stanza:
"And the church bells chime the colour of wine
And the angels devil fight to snatch back the lost time "
The narrator's lack of love is characterized by a sense of "lost time". There is no more time for the narrator to find his love, his "ship" (another metaphor for love), and
"And when the ship comes
In trouble
His trouble will begin".
A hint to this song's meaning is given in the name of the album itself: "ape of Naples". What does it mean to 'ape'? It means to imitate someone absurdly, or without logic. The man with "the same tattoos" as the narrator is the one aping him, and the narrator loves him. Tattoos in this case are used as a metaphor for sexual orientation.
The man with the "different set of sex aspects" (this I interpret as different sexual orientation than the narrator) is the one the narrator hates. However, an important detail here is that the one the narrator hates is also the one lying in bed (possibly with some sexual connotation), while the one the narrator loves is the one lying in a grave. This can possibly mean that certain people with specific sexual orientations don't ever get to experience the wonder of love and sex with another person of their same orientation, perhaps through circumstances out of their control.
One detail that greatly seems to support the above is the phrase "pining like a dog". From google, to pine means to: "suffer a mental and physical decline, especially because of a broken heart."
So the man the narrator loves is dead, either literally or figuratively (my guess is figuratively, as the whole song seems to suggest the narrator's hope for love will never reach fruition). This is confirmed with the phrase "This is the dark age of love". He wouldn't have used the term "dark age" for some temporary form of lovelessness, which is why I think the narrator suffers from a permanent affliction.
Another clue to support the above claims is the stanza:
"And the church bells chime the colour of wine And the angels devil fight to snatch back the lost time "
The narrator's lack of love is characterized by a sense of "lost time". There is no more time for the narrator to find his love, his "ship" (another metaphor for love), and
"And when the ship comes In trouble His trouble will begin".