This is a song about betrayal. Most of my interpretation of it isn't literal.
The carbonation in my drink
The bubbles rise while my heart sinks
And I'll I tend to do is think of you
Although the carbonated drink could be beer, I like to imagine it's Coke or soda. Something banal enough to symbolize average life...because as he lives his everyday life, the woman he loves creeps her way into his thoughts no matter what he does.
Was it easier to pack your bags
And book that flight to Paris as
The plane began to move that afternoon
He's thinking about the day she left him. He wonders if she ran off and left the country rather than work things out with him just because that was easier for her. Saying the plane began to move that afternoon implies it was a last-minute decision she made. He resents her, whether she left him impulsively or as part of a plan to run off with her lover.
When all the trains have pulled away
From local stations in decay
It's I who waits, it's you who's late again
I see this as completely symbolic. Their relationship had reached a decayed state, with him desperate to hang on as long as possible, and her barely making an effort—hence, being "late again". Possibly this could allude to him literally waiting on her as she continually shows up late to every plan they make.
And did you think of me when you made love
To him, was it the same as us
Or was it different, it must have been
He's wondering what this other guy had that he couldn't give. Was the narrator replaceable as a lover? Was the woman looking for something different in a man than what he had to offer, caring nothing for who she hurt in the process of finding it?
And all the pretty dames
They'll hug and kiss you all the same
And when they go, they're gone
They're not run-ning late
Oh all, all the pretty dames
After he entertains the thought of being replaced, his bitterness increases. He's now projecting his ex's treatment of him onto all women, especially pretty women who have their choice of men. Simultaneously, he scorns his ex's perpetual excuse when she was cheating on him: that she was running late. He knows now that's not what she'd meant and he wishes she'd been at least as forthcoming as these random women.
And the kids you hold in your arms
With promises to protect them from harm
But they grow, and they go
And you're all alone
All the kids, all the kids that you hold
This is about how he feels so alone that he doesn't even feel comforted by his children.
And it's a shame that it ends this way
With nothing left to say
So just sit on your hands, while I walk away
It's a shame, it's a shame, it's a shame
He wishes their relationship had been done at least the justice of a proper breakup conversation, but it's too late. Sitting on her hands refers again to her making no effort when they were together.
When my hands begin to shake
When bitterness is all I taste
And my car won't stop
'Cause I cut the brakes
I hold on to a hope in my fate
I don't want to take this literally and assume the narrator commits suicide. Another possibility is that he's going wherever he's going in life, which he hopes is somewhere better than he is, and he isn't going to look back.
Oh oh ah ah hey hey
May you return to love one day
Well I hope and I pray
You get what you gave
Oh oh ah ah hey hey
He simultaneously seems to want her to find love again, because he really still loves her which is why he's in such pain, yet at the same time want her to love someone who will betray her the way she betrayed him.
I love this song. It's raw, epic, unadulterated passion.
This is a song about betrayal. Most of my interpretation of it isn't literal.
The carbonation in my drink The bubbles rise while my heart sinks And I'll I tend to do is think of you
Although the carbonated drink could be beer, I like to imagine it's Coke or soda. Something banal enough to symbolize average life...because as he lives his everyday life, the woman he loves creeps her way into his thoughts no matter what he does.
Was it easier to pack your bags And book that flight to Paris as The plane began to move that afternoon
He's thinking about the day she left him. He wonders if she ran off and left the country rather than work things out with him just because that was easier for her. Saying the plane began to move that afternoon implies it was a last-minute decision she made. He resents her, whether she left him impulsively or as part of a plan to run off with her lover.
When all the trains have pulled away From local stations in decay It's I who waits, it's you who's late again
I see this as completely symbolic. Their relationship had reached a decayed state, with him desperate to hang on as long as possible, and her barely making an effort—hence, being "late again". Possibly this could allude to him literally waiting on her as she continually shows up late to every plan they make.
And did you think of me when you made love To him, was it the same as us Or was it different, it must have been
He's wondering what this other guy had that he couldn't give. Was the narrator replaceable as a lover? Was the woman looking for something different in a man than what he had to offer, caring nothing for who she hurt in the process of finding it?
And all the pretty dames They'll hug and kiss you all the same And when they go, they're gone They're not run-ning late Oh all, all the pretty dames
After he entertains the thought of being replaced, his bitterness increases. He's now projecting his ex's treatment of him onto all women, especially pretty women who have their choice of men. Simultaneously, he scorns his ex's perpetual excuse when she was cheating on him: that she was running late. He knows now that's not what she'd meant and he wishes she'd been at least as forthcoming as these random women.
And the kids you hold in your arms With promises to protect them from harm But they grow, and they go And you're all alone All the kids, all the kids that you hold
This is about how he feels so alone that he doesn't even feel comforted by his children.
And it's a shame that it ends this way With nothing left to say So just sit on your hands, while I walk away It's a shame, it's a shame, it's a shame
He wishes their relationship had been done at least the justice of a proper breakup conversation, but it's too late. Sitting on her hands refers again to her making no effort when they were together.
When my hands begin to shake When bitterness is all I taste And my car won't stop 'Cause I cut the brakes I hold on to a hope in my fate
I don't want to take this literally and assume the narrator commits suicide. Another possibility is that he's going wherever he's going in life, which he hopes is somewhere better than he is, and he isn't going to look back.
Oh oh ah ah hey hey May you return to love one day Well I hope and I pray You get what you gave Oh oh ah ah hey hey
He simultaneously seems to want her to find love again, because he really still loves her which is why he's in such pain, yet at the same time want her to love someone who will betray her the way she betrayed him.
I love this song. It's raw, epic, unadulterated passion.