I've read the lyrics over and over as you all have. I want to propose a hypothesis that may be true for many songs where we have difficulty finding the true meaning of the song (e.g. Hotel California). Neil is painting a picture, purposely keeping it vague, allowing the listener to conjure various images and plots. The song doesn't get old, b/c we're constantly analyzing it. Some artist may do that intentionally and the song may be more or less metaphorical, I don't know. His intent could have be to create a mood and the lyrics had to be cut up and incomplete. Key words and phrases may have been left out of the orginal poem or story that he created to fit the demands of the music/rhythm.
My first impression was that this is literally about a disturbed man who committed murder. The stanzas are his thoughts before the murder, the chorus being the repetition of a confession to himself. For those interested in this particular interpretation, listen to Possum Kingdom by the Toadies and you will find a similar story being told.
I've read the lyrics over and over as you all have. I want to propose a hypothesis that may be true for many songs where we have difficulty finding the true meaning of the song (e.g. Hotel California). Neil is painting a picture, purposely keeping it vague, allowing the listener to conjure various images and plots. The song doesn't get old, b/c we're constantly analyzing it. Some artist may do that intentionally and the song may be more or less metaphorical, I don't know. His intent could have be to create a mood and the lyrics had to be cut up and incomplete. Key words and phrases may have been left out of the orginal poem or story that he created to fit the demands of the music/rhythm.
My first impression was that this is literally about a disturbed man who committed murder. The stanzas are his thoughts before the murder, the chorus being the repetition of a confession to himself. For those interested in this particular interpretation, listen to Possum Kingdom by the Toadies and you will find a similar story being told.