Lyric discussion by dopiedan 

Cover art for Ahead By A Century lyrics by Tragically Hip, The

To me, this is a man who is with a woman out of his league. Maybe not physically out of his league, but spiritually and emotionally. Much more evolved. He gets "stung", and has an epiphany of sorts, where he realizes this. He knows he is unable to meet her on her plane of existence. She is ahead by a century. He will only fall consistently short.