I don't really have anything new to add to the meaning of this song; I think it's all pretty much been said. And I agree that, having heard it acoustic and live first, the single version doesn't sound like it evokes as much emotion... when you first start to listen to it. But I think that it builds as the song goes on, and even though it's not quite as raw as the acoustic version, the emotion is definitely still there. Something about the way he sings the word "closed" in the second verse really gets me. I don't know why, but to me it sounds like you hear sort of the pain of what he's feeling a lot in that one word.
I don't really have anything new to add to the meaning of this song; I think it's all pretty much been said. And I agree that, having heard it acoustic and live first, the single version doesn't sound like it evokes as much emotion... when you first start to listen to it. But I think that it builds as the song goes on, and even though it's not quite as raw as the acoustic version, the emotion is definitely still there. Something about the way he sings the word "closed" in the second verse really gets me. I don't know why, but to me it sounds like you hear sort of the pain of what he's feeling a lot in that one word.