So I guess it is about Fitzgerald's story, but this is my interpretation.
The first time I ever heard of this song I was looking at the Soviet Kitsch lyric book and I said to my friend, "Wow, this song decribes every guy at my old school perfectly."
At my old school, popularity was the major obsession. Almost everyone lived in a mansion and grew up as cheerleaders and football players. Last year I noticed a definite pattern among most of the rich crowd, especially the guys - they were all amazingly smart and sensitive and tried really hard to hide this from the rest of the world for fear of losing what they had been taught was a perfect lifestyle.
I think this song is about a boy who, like most of my old school, had grown up surrounded by superficial people and things and is afraid to admit to himself and others that maybe his life isn't so perfect after all.
I think the chorus is about what he's afraid to hear - that he doesn't really love his superficial mother and girlfriend. I love that line, "She thinks that she’s fat
but she isn’t" from a boyfriend's point of view. He's just fed up with all the obsession with appearance and wealth.
I also love the next verse, "The water runs off your skin and down into the drain." It makes me think of him standing in the shower, just staring at the wall, not bothering to wash himself or anything. He's so confused he feels blank and dazed and the water just runs off his skin, not affecting him at all, just like the rest of the world. He's trying to break free from his mold in private, trying to find other lifestyles that seem less empty, like the stereotypical college student in the cafe. He's just unhappy with his life and trying to change it but he doesn't know how.
When Regina tells him he's "so goddamn young" she's reminding him that he's just a little boy, he doesn't need to have it all figured out yet, and that the weight of the world doesn't rest on his shoulders. He can relax.
Oh yeah and in the beginning I picture him at a party his parents are hosting and after everyone leaves he just feels empty and lonely. He was looking at all the couples and comparing them to him and his girlfriend but still couldn't figure out any secret to make himself love her (since it talks about her right after this verse).
Like I said, I think this is really about "The Rich Boy" but this is how I feel about it....and hey, maybe my interpretation actually relates to Anson.
So I guess it is about Fitzgerald's story, but this is my interpretation.
The first time I ever heard of this song I was looking at the Soviet Kitsch lyric book and I said to my friend, "Wow, this song decribes every guy at my old school perfectly."
At my old school, popularity was the major obsession. Almost everyone lived in a mansion and grew up as cheerleaders and football players. Last year I noticed a definite pattern among most of the rich crowd, especially the guys - they were all amazingly smart and sensitive and tried really hard to hide this from the rest of the world for fear of losing what they had been taught was a perfect lifestyle.
I think this song is about a boy who, like most of my old school, had grown up surrounded by superficial people and things and is afraid to admit to himself and others that maybe his life isn't so perfect after all. I think the chorus is about what he's afraid to hear - that he doesn't really love his superficial mother and girlfriend. I love that line, "She thinks that she’s fat but she isn’t" from a boyfriend's point of view. He's just fed up with all the obsession with appearance and wealth.
I also love the next verse, "The water runs off your skin and down into the drain." It makes me think of him standing in the shower, just staring at the wall, not bothering to wash himself or anything. He's so confused he feels blank and dazed and the water just runs off his skin, not affecting him at all, just like the rest of the world. He's trying to break free from his mold in private, trying to find other lifestyles that seem less empty, like the stereotypical college student in the cafe. He's just unhappy with his life and trying to change it but he doesn't know how.
When Regina tells him he's "so goddamn young" she's reminding him that he's just a little boy, he doesn't need to have it all figured out yet, and that the weight of the world doesn't rest on his shoulders. He can relax.
Oh yeah and in the beginning I picture him at a party his parents are hosting and after everyone leaves he just feels empty and lonely. He was looking at all the couples and comparing them to him and his girlfriend but still couldn't figure out any secret to make himself love her (since it talks about her right after this verse).
Like I said, I think this is really about "The Rich Boy" but this is how I feel about it....and hey, maybe my interpretation actually relates to Anson.