When I first heard this song before reading the lyrics I thought it was about a man's relationship with a underage girl.
I heard: "Say, you're not allowed to curse" instead of "still, you're not around to curse". I also thought "Break common laws in twos and threes" was about age of consent. Now I think it's about an adultery law. I think it's about a man who may/ may not have gone out with a woman and now he wants her back but she's married. Hence the: "The ring, it nearly weighs her down She's got another boy, oh boy". Maybe at the start of the song their relationship was just beginning, like when he sings: "Or just the start of something really, really beautiful Wrapped up and disguised As something really really ugly?". Then the second verse may be them on a date, "I watched every inch of film flash across your roman features and I loved it, loved it". Third and fourth verse they may have gotten into an argument: "Well, I'm sorry everybody knows you can't break me With your gutter prose" Maybe the woman is trying to make him feel guilty or shitty about what they're doing. Also, "Would you believe it? She sent me a letter The ring, it nearly weighs her down She's got another boy, oh boy" maybe is trying make him feel like shit again by saying "I have a guy that can give me things you could never afford". "And when I'm really ill, won't you cradle me?" I believe is expressing the narrator's doubt in her faith/loyalty to him. Fourth verse is saying they got over the fight, but they realize what they are doing is morally wrong. Fifth verse is asking about her thoughts on freedom, maybe over a drink (Oh, tell me your thoughts tell me your thoughts on liberty/Will you join me for another round?) Next verse is going back to adultery (I break the law once every week to feel your touch). I think he's saying he's done a lot for the relationship too. "This just makes me ill/ Your name is dripping from my pen" I think is the point where the relationship ends, it makes him sad, and he still wants to write to her. "I'll drop the gun now" may be his remorse for "killing" her marriage, and "I'm still under you" may mean his acknowledgment that he feels below her. And the final verse: "Marianne, let the ghosts sleep tonight
Marianne, let the ghosts sleep
Just shut your eyes, burn the past" may be just him trying to let her forget what happened, to "burn" away what happened.
When I first heard this song before reading the lyrics I thought it was about a man's relationship with a underage girl. I heard: "Say, you're not allowed to curse" instead of "still, you're not around to curse". I also thought "Break common laws in twos and threes" was about age of consent. Now I think it's about an adultery law. I think it's about a man who may/ may not have gone out with a woman and now he wants her back but she's married. Hence the: "The ring, it nearly weighs her down She's got another boy, oh boy". Maybe at the start of the song their relationship was just beginning, like when he sings: "Or just the start of something really, really beautiful Wrapped up and disguised As something really really ugly?". Then the second verse may be them on a date, "I watched every inch of film flash across your roman features and I loved it, loved it". Third and fourth verse they may have gotten into an argument: "Well, I'm sorry everybody knows you can't break me With your gutter prose" Maybe the woman is trying to make him feel guilty or shitty about what they're doing. Also, "Would you believe it? She sent me a letter The ring, it nearly weighs her down She's got another boy, oh boy" maybe is trying make him feel like shit again by saying "I have a guy that can give me things you could never afford". "And when I'm really ill, won't you cradle me?" I believe is expressing the narrator's doubt in her faith/loyalty to him. Fourth verse is saying they got over the fight, but they realize what they are doing is morally wrong. Fifth verse is asking about her thoughts on freedom, maybe over a drink (Oh, tell me your thoughts tell me your thoughts on liberty/Will you join me for another round?) Next verse is going back to adultery (I break the law once every week to feel your touch). I think he's saying he's done a lot for the relationship too. "This just makes me ill/ Your name is dripping from my pen" I think is the point where the relationship ends, it makes him sad, and he still wants to write to her. "I'll drop the gun now" may be his remorse for "killing" her marriage, and "I'm still under you" may mean his acknowledgment that he feels below her. And the final verse: "Marianne, let the ghosts sleep tonight Marianne, let the ghosts sleep Just shut your eyes, burn the past" may be just him trying to let her forget what happened, to "burn" away what happened.
I don't know, that's just my take on it. :]