i like to interpret this as young eddie looking at an older version of himself, and later he actually gets to meet his future self ("i rub my eyes, for he has returned") and realises he hasnt changed as much as he had thought ("seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned, for he still smiles, and and he's still strong") then at the end he realises even though he hasnt changed that much, some things are different ("until a quarter to ten, i saw a strain creep in, he seems distracted and i know just what is gonna happen next") and thats what makes this song so bittersweet. the reason i like to think this is a younger eddie talking about older eddie and not a friend's perspective is because of how much the narrator seems to know and understand "him", almost as if they're the same person just one's older. this is especially clear to me in the lines "we go way back, i wonder about his insides, its like his thoughts are too big for his size". the way this is phrased just seems like it's coming from a younger version of someone. i know eddie has said in the past this is about him being a shit friend to someone else but i still like to think of it as a younger version of eddie narrating the song.
i like to interpret this as young eddie looking at an older version of himself, and later he actually gets to meet his future self ("i rub my eyes, for he has returned") and realises he hasnt changed as much as he had thought ("seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned, for he still smiles, and and he's still strong") then at the end he realises even though he hasnt changed that much, some things are different ("until a quarter to ten, i saw a strain creep in, he seems distracted and i know just what is gonna happen next") and thats what makes this song so bittersweet. the reason i like to think this is a younger eddie talking about older eddie and not a friend's perspective is because of how much the narrator seems to know and understand "him", almost as if they're the same person just one's older. this is especially clear to me in the lines "we go way back, i wonder about his insides, its like his thoughts are too big for his size". the way this is phrased just seems like it's coming from a younger version of someone. i know eddie has said in the past this is about him being a shit friend to someone else but i still like to think of it as a younger version of eddie narrating the song.