I feel late to the party. I know the writer said it was about his mother who passed away. I’ve tried looking at it from that perspective, but it doesn’t really make sense in that context.
I think the song is about a guy who’s girlfriend left him to go find herself and see the world, and she’s returned now and he sees her seeming really happy and fulfilled:
“Now that she’s back in the atmosphere”
“She acts like summer and walks like rain”
“She listens like spring and talks like June”
So he starts wondering and asking questions to himself in quite a sarcastic and almost passive aggressive way feeling quite angry that she left him:
“Tell me did you sail across the sun? Did you make it to the milky way to see the light all faded? And heaven was overrated?”
He’s afraid that she has moved on to bigger things and won’t love just a small town guy like himself:
“I’m afraid she might think of me as plain ol Jane- who was too afraid to fly so he never did land”
He wants to ask her if it was worth leaving what she and him had, they had something really special in the small things and she threw that away:
“-Love -pride -deep fried chicken- always sticking up for you even when I know you’re wrong- best soy latter you’ve ever had… and me”
The “and me” breaks my heart every time. He’s asking, “Was I not worth staying for?”
He asks if it was all worth it, if she successfully found herself, it feels angry when he asks, but this is also juxtaposed with the other line where he still wonders if she’s ok, and whether she’s lonely:
“And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?”
Compared to
“And are you lonely looking for yourself out there?”
It’s heart breaking. He’s so angry at her for leaving, he wonders why he wasn’t worth staying for, he doesn’t feel good enough, so he just wants to lash out at her, but he can’t help but still care about her and wonder if she’s ok. He still loves her so much.
One of my most favourite songs.
I feel late to the party. I know the writer said it was about his mother who passed away. I’ve tried looking at it from that perspective, but it doesn’t really make sense in that context. I think the song is about a guy who’s girlfriend left him to go find herself and see the world, and she’s returned now and he sees her seeming really happy and fulfilled: “Now that she’s back in the atmosphere” “She acts like summer and walks like rain” “She listens like spring and talks like June” So he starts wondering and asking questions to himself in quite a sarcastic and almost passive aggressive way feeling quite angry that she left him: “Tell me did you sail across the sun? Did you make it to the milky way to see the light all faded? And heaven was overrated?” He’s afraid that she has moved on to bigger things and won’t love just a small town guy like himself: “I’m afraid she might think of me as plain ol Jane- who was too afraid to fly so he never did land” He wants to ask her if it was worth leaving what she and him had, they had something really special in the small things and she threw that away: “-Love -pride -deep fried chicken- always sticking up for you even when I know you’re wrong- best soy latter you’ve ever had… and me” The “and me” breaks my heart every time. He’s asking, “Was I not worth staying for?” He asks if it was all worth it, if she successfully found herself, it feels angry when he asks, but this is also juxtaposed with the other line where he still wonders if she’s ok, and whether she’s lonely: “And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?” Compared to “And are you lonely looking for yourself out there?” It’s heart breaking. He’s so angry at her for leaving, he wonders why he wasn’t worth staying for, he doesn’t feel good enough, so he just wants to lash out at her, but he can’t help but still care about her and wonder if she’s ok. He still loves her so much. One of my most favourite songs.