There are a lot of little clues in this song--my interpretations are bracketed:
Are you having a long day
Everyone you meet rubs you the wrong way
Dirty city streets smell like an ashtray
Morning bells are ringing in your ear
[We can assume the subject doesn't live in a gated community--everyday problems of the nonwealthy--it appears he is talking to his significant other]
Is your brother on a church kick
Seems like just a different kind of dope sick
Better off to teach a dog a card trick
Than try to have a point and make it clear
[Indicates subject has a disdain for religious fervor and its inherent lack of explanation and sensibility]
You should know compared
To people on a global scale
Our kind has had it relatively easy
And here with you there's always
Something to look forward to
My angry heart beats relatively easy
[He seems to downplay the unenviable situation he and his girlfriend are in saying compared to the worldwide population they have it "relatively" easy. Of course, everything in the world is relative--it seems his angry heart only beats relatively easy, but compared to what?]
I lost a good friend
Christmas time when folks go off the deep end
His woman took the kids and he took klonopin
Enough to kill a man of twice his size
Not for me to understand
Remember him when he was still a proud man
A vandals smile a baseball in his right hand
Nothing but the blue sky in his eye
[He laments the suicide of a friend that at one time was full of life.]
Still compared to those
A stones throw away from you
Our lives have both been relatively easy
Take the(a) year, make or break
There ain't that much at stake
The answers could be relatively easy
[Again, relative to his friend's situation, he states he and his girlfriend's lives have been relatively easy. But she's not buying it and wants to take a year break from their relationship, which he downplays, saying there "ain't that much at stake" and "the answers could be relatively easy"]
Watch that lucky man walk to work again
He may not have a friend left in the world
See him walking home again to sleep alone
Or step into a shop to buy a postcard for a girl
[A flashforward, we can infer he's lucky to have work, but he's sleeping alone. Clearly, the break with the girl is permanent, but he buys her a postcard nonetheless.]
I broke the law boys
Shooting out the windows of my loft boys
When they picked me up I made a big noise
Everything to blame except my mind
[This is a flashback--without her, he goes off the rails, possibly addicted to something, and starts shooting out his loft windows, leading the cops to take him in. Presumably, he goes to prison, which would appear to doom his relationship with the girl. Without the girl in his life, it's trouble.]
I should say I keep your picture with me everyday
The evenings now are relatively easy
Here with you there's always
Something to look forward to
My lonely heart beats relatively easy
My lonely heart beats relatively easy
[Now, he only has the girl's picture to accompany him. Still, he claims, the nights and his lonely heart are "relatively" easy. Clearly, he's underplaying the struggles of being alone, just as he understated their apparent financial struggles and the importance of her to him. A really sad ending to a great and artfully drafted song. Overall, I think the song's theme expresses a forced acceptance of a bad situation and the struggles of everyday folks. The acceptance is less than wholehearted, though.]
There are a lot of little clues in this song--my interpretations are bracketed:
Are you having a long day Everyone you meet rubs you the wrong way Dirty city streets smell like an ashtray Morning bells are ringing in your ear
[We can assume the subject doesn't live in a gated community--everyday problems of the nonwealthy--it appears he is talking to his significant other]
Is your brother on a church kick Seems like just a different kind of dope sick Better off to teach a dog a card trick Than try to have a point and make it clear
[Indicates subject has a disdain for religious fervor and its inherent lack of explanation and sensibility]
You should know compared To people on a global scale Our kind has had it relatively easy And here with you there's always Something to look forward to My angry heart beats relatively easy
[He seems to downplay the unenviable situation he and his girlfriend are in saying compared to the worldwide population they have it "relatively" easy. Of course, everything in the world is relative--it seems his angry heart only beats relatively easy, but compared to what?]
I lost a good friend Christmas time when folks go off the deep end His woman took the kids and he took klonopin Enough to kill a man of twice his size
Not for me to understand Remember him when he was still a proud man A vandals smile a baseball in his right hand Nothing but the blue sky in his eye
[He laments the suicide of a friend that at one time was full of life.]
Still compared to those A stones throw away from you Our lives have both been relatively easy Take the(a) year, make or break There ain't that much at stake The answers could be relatively easy
[Again, relative to his friend's situation, he states he and his girlfriend's lives have been relatively easy. But she's not buying it and wants to take a year break from their relationship, which he downplays, saying there "ain't that much at stake" and "the answers could be relatively easy"]
Watch that lucky man walk to work again He may not have a friend left in the world See him walking home again to sleep alone Or step into a shop to buy a postcard for a girl
[A flashforward, we can infer he's lucky to have work, but he's sleeping alone. Clearly, the break with the girl is permanent, but he buys her a postcard nonetheless.]
I broke the law boys Shooting out the windows of my loft boys When they picked me up I made a big noise Everything to blame except my mind
[This is a flashback--without her, he goes off the rails, possibly addicted to something, and starts shooting out his loft windows, leading the cops to take him in. Presumably, he goes to prison, which would appear to doom his relationship with the girl. Without the girl in his life, it's trouble.]
I should say I keep your picture with me everyday The evenings now are relatively easy Here with you there's always Something to look forward to My lonely heart beats relatively easy My lonely heart beats relatively easy
[Now, he only has the girl's picture to accompany him. Still, he claims, the nights and his lonely heart are "relatively" easy. Clearly, he's underplaying the struggles of being alone, just as he understated their apparent financial struggles and the importance of her to him. A really sad ending to a great and artfully drafted song. Overall, I think the song's theme expresses a forced acceptance of a bad situation and the struggles of everyday folks. The acceptance is less than wholehearted, though.]