he tried to escape

it's "held his wife not long ago" and "the monocle men carried him away"

whenever i hear this album i think of the big brother scenario. this is a world where all sorts of things are outlawed or taken away ("kingfish pies") to give those in charge more control. consequently, the authorities also do anything they can to prevent people from escaping (that is, taking away certain modes of transport such as balloons in "balloon maker"). this song is the conclusion/response to that. the subject of "balloon maker" finally decides he's had enough and tries to escape. and although he gets caught, you still get the sense that it was worth the effort after a "life" lived not being able to do the things he once loved to do (be with his wife, make balloons etc). anyway, this is my gross oversimplication of a lovely concept album.

its "he couldn't get back >in the air

With gkaram and amestheamazings corrections:

he tried to escape once in a balloon he tried to escape once in a balloon on the foggiest day he decided not to stay the ground below held his wife not long ago and through the fog the ground it disappeared

he felt he had made it and starts to come down a crowd of people that followed were cheering loud and then something went wrong and he couldn't get back in the air and when he landed just inside the gates the monocle men carried him away

The whole album presents a singular world where the government (monocle men) has absolute control. They control the labor (Kingfish Pies), brainwashing through superstition and ceremonies/parades (Some of Them Were Superstitious) (Anabel), and imposing outrageous laws that limit freedoms and escape from their society. This song presents a tragic story of a man described in the previous track (Balloon Maker) who has nothing left when the monocle men outlaw all balloons. He was already an outcast and discussed with his only friend that there might be more people like them somewhere outside of their society. Ironically, there seems to be more people who resent the government than he thought, as the song portrays a crowd of people following his progress and cheering at the prospect of escaping. The song implies that his wife died recently, and it's reasonable to assume that's what pushed him over the edge. The only flaw in his plan was that he picked a foggy day to try to escape, and he misjudged the distance he had traveled. He thought he had gone far enough and started to descend, but by the time he realized his mistake "something went wrong" and he couldn't stop the descent. He landed just inside the gate, where the monocle men were waiting for him and carried him away, likely to death or imprisonment.