Basically, I think this song is about a depressed guy trying to find himself and get back into normal life got into a car crash through some series of events - possibly on his way to see his girlfriend, who is really sad about it and hopes he would come back to her, in turn making her depressed as well, and she starts remarking how nothing good ever lasts in life - hence their relationship.
For a breakdown of that, see below.
"I got those jet pack blues"
Jet packs rocket you into the sky, you could say they make something extreme, and blues are when you're sad, so jet pack blues would be when you're really extremely sad, like depression.
The speaker is depressed.
"Just like Judy"
Possibly Judy Garland, who was kind of depressed and attempted suicide a couple of times, overdosed her pills, and abused alcohol.
"The kind that makes June feel like September"
June is the start of summer, when everything is growing and the birds are singing and everyone is happy. September is the start of fall, when everything is going downhill - all the flowers are dying and the animals are migrating. The June and September analogy applies to the whole of life, so the speaker is saying that their depression is making everything, even the best things, feel terrible - they have a pessimistic view of everything.
"I'm the last one that you'll ever remember"
My theory about the whole song is that some guy got into a car crash (more on that below) and he's talking to his girlfriend in the song - he's telling her that she will never care about anyone else she dates - she'll only ever remember her boyfriend that died.
"And I'm trying to find that peace of mind
Behind these two white highway lines"
This set of lyrics has major double meaning to me. Maybe the boyfriend is driving on the road somewhere (two highway lines) and he's really stressed from his depression, and he's trying to figure everything out. "Behind these two white highway lines" could also mean that he's behind everything, and is just watching from the side, if the highway a metaphor for where everyone is, the speaker is on the sidelines, trying to find his peace of mind, trying to find himself before he gets back on the highway. His depression is making him stop and gather everything. I don't think it's just one or the other, I think it has double meaning and it means both of those things.
"When the city goes silent"
The city is never silent, therefore, the speaker has died - he can't hear anything anymore.
"The ringing in my ears gets violent"
There is never nothing to hear, there's always that something in the background. That something is the ringing in his ears. I don't think it's actual ringing, but another metaphor for depression and/or the insanity that is always going on in everyone's head, and now that he's dead and all the distractions of the city are gone, his pure sadness overwhelms him.
"She's in a long black coat tonight"
Black is symbolic for mourning. She is the girlfriend of the guy that died and she's wearing a long black coat, therefore, she is mourning his death.
"Waiting for me in the downpour outside"
If she's waiting for him, maybe that means he was on his way to meet somewhere with his girlfriend, but maybe it just means that she's waiting for him in general. She's waiting for him to come back, even though she knows he can't - she's denying his death, the first in the stages of grief. Also, rain is symbolism for sadness.
"She's singing "Baby come home" in a melody of tears"
She's hoping that he comes home, calling out to him. OMG A MELODY OF TEARS THATS THE BEST THING IVE EVER READ ITS SO STRONG AND GAH
"While the rhythm of the rain keeps time"
Again, rain = sadness. So the sadness of the girl is helping her sing "Baby come home" in a mELODY OF TEARs. Basically, extreme sadness.
And I remember "Baby, come home"
I remember "Baby, come home"
I remember "Baby, come home"
I remember "Baby, come home"
Maybe his girlfriend called him in the car and she knew it wasn't safe - it was raining - and asked him to just come home quick, and now the guy is remembering this, and regretting that he didn't go quick enough.
"Did you ever love her? Do you know?
Or did you never want to be alone?"
Maybe in his last moments, the boyfriend is asking himself questions about the relationship he was in, wondering if he ever really loved her, or maybe these lyrics are general questions to other people, the world as a whole and he's telling them to evaluate their relationship and not make the mistake he did.
And she was singing "Baby, come home"
"Baby, come home"
SWITCH TO GIRLFRIEND'S POINT OF VIEW
"I've got those jet pack blues"
Her boyfriend's death has caused her to become depressed.
"Fight off the light tonight and just stay with me
Honey, don't you leave"
She's asking her boyfriend to fight death and stay with her. "The Light" is often associated with death. (don't go into the light, Jimmy!) She's begging him to stay alive.
"Don't you remember how we used to split a drink?
It never mattered what it was
I think our hands were just that close
The sweetness never lasted, no"
Her and her boyfriend used to share drinks together, because they were so close. But the sweetness of the drink would always fade in time. That has double meaning for life - the drink they share is metaphorical for the life they have together, and all sweetness of life dies out eventually - happiness can never last forever.
And then the chorus repeats a bunch of times.
This is just what I think - feel free to agree or disagree or add more or whatever.
Basically, I think this song is about a depressed guy trying to find himself and get back into normal life got into a car crash through some series of events - possibly on his way to see his girlfriend, who is really sad about it and hopes he would come back to her, in turn making her depressed as well, and she starts remarking how nothing good ever lasts in life - hence their relationship.
For a breakdown of that, see below.
"I got those jet pack blues"
Jet packs rocket you into the sky, you could say they make something extreme, and blues are when you're sad, so jet pack blues would be when you're really extremely sad, like depression.
The speaker is depressed.
"Just like Judy"
Possibly Judy Garland, who was kind of depressed and attempted suicide a couple of times, overdosed her pills, and abused alcohol.
"The kind that makes June feel like September"
June is the start of summer, when everything is growing and the birds are singing and everyone is happy. September is the start of fall, when everything is going downhill - all the flowers are dying and the animals are migrating. The June and September analogy applies to the whole of life, so the speaker is saying that their depression is making everything, even the best things, feel terrible - they have a pessimistic view of everything.
"I'm the last one that you'll ever remember"
My theory about the whole song is that some guy got into a car crash (more on that below) and he's talking to his girlfriend in the song - he's telling her that she will never care about anyone else she dates - she'll only ever remember her boyfriend that died.
"And I'm trying to find that peace of mind Behind these two white highway lines"
This set of lyrics has major double meaning to me. Maybe the boyfriend is driving on the road somewhere (two highway lines) and he's really stressed from his depression, and he's trying to figure everything out. "Behind these two white highway lines" could also mean that he's behind everything, and is just watching from the side, if the highway a metaphor for where everyone is, the speaker is on the sidelines, trying to find his peace of mind, trying to find himself before he gets back on the highway. His depression is making him stop and gather everything. I don't think it's just one or the other, I think it has double meaning and it means both of those things.
"When the city goes silent"
The city is never silent, therefore, the speaker has died - he can't hear anything anymore.
"The ringing in my ears gets violent"
There is never nothing to hear, there's always that something in the background. That something is the ringing in his ears. I don't think it's actual ringing, but another metaphor for depression and/or the insanity that is always going on in everyone's head, and now that he's dead and all the distractions of the city are gone, his pure sadness overwhelms him.
"She's in a long black coat tonight"
Black is symbolic for mourning. She is the girlfriend of the guy that died and she's wearing a long black coat, therefore, she is mourning his death.
"Waiting for me in the downpour outside"
If she's waiting for him, maybe that means he was on his way to meet somewhere with his girlfriend, but maybe it just means that she's waiting for him in general. She's waiting for him to come back, even though she knows he can't - she's denying his death, the first in the stages of grief. Also, rain is symbolism for sadness.
"She's singing "Baby come home" in a melody of tears"
She's hoping that he comes home, calling out to him. OMG A MELODY OF TEARS THATS THE BEST THING IVE EVER READ ITS SO STRONG AND GAH
"While the rhythm of the rain keeps time"
Again, rain = sadness. So the sadness of the girl is helping her sing "Baby come home" in a mELODY OF TEARs. Basically, extreme sadness.
And I remember "Baby, come home" I remember "Baby, come home" I remember "Baby, come home" I remember "Baby, come home"
Maybe his girlfriend called him in the car and she knew it wasn't safe - it was raining - and asked him to just come home quick, and now the guy is remembering this, and regretting that he didn't go quick enough.
"Did you ever love her? Do you know? Or did you never want to be alone?"
Maybe in his last moments, the boyfriend is asking himself questions about the relationship he was in, wondering if he ever really loved her, or maybe these lyrics are general questions to other people, the world as a whole and he's telling them to evaluate their relationship and not make the mistake he did.
And she was singing "Baby, come home" "Baby, come home"
SWITCH TO GIRLFRIEND'S POINT OF VIEW
"I've got those jet pack blues"
Her boyfriend's death has caused her to become depressed.
"Fight off the light tonight and just stay with me Honey, don't you leave"
She's asking her boyfriend to fight death and stay with her. "The Light" is often associated with death. (don't go into the light, Jimmy!) She's begging him to stay alive.
"Don't you remember how we used to split a drink? It never mattered what it was I think our hands were just that close The sweetness never lasted, no"
Her and her boyfriend used to share drinks together, because they were so close. But the sweetness of the drink would always fade in time. That has double meaning for life - the drink they share is metaphorical for the life they have together, and all sweetness of life dies out eventually - happiness can never last forever.
And then the chorus repeats a bunch of times.
This is just what I think - feel free to agree or disagree or add more or whatever.