Well, the last line is a reference to "Killer Parties," with the first line, "If they ask about Charlemagne, be polite and say something vague..." Although she doesn't leave much room for interpretation with her body language. I think the idea of "exploding" in this song means both getting in over your head with drugs, or, if the narrator is Craig Finn and not another character in the Hold Steady mythology, he could mean the dangers of dealing with sudden fame.
I think the whole song relates a lot to "Killer Parties," with this theme of trying to find a better place. In that song, the narrator says to tell "them" they left because they were "young and in love, and I guess we just needed space." It's about trying to find the right place in a country where the dangers seem to just follow you. And, as the song says, it can almost kill you.
Well, the last line is a reference to "Killer Parties," with the first line, "If they ask about Charlemagne, be polite and say something vague..." Although she doesn't leave much room for interpretation with her body language. I think the idea of "exploding" in this song means both getting in over your head with drugs, or, if the narrator is Craig Finn and not another character in the Hold Steady mythology, he could mean the dangers of dealing with sudden fame. I think the whole song relates a lot to "Killer Parties," with this theme of trying to find a better place. In that song, the narrator says to tell "them" they left because they were "young and in love, and I guess we just needed space." It's about trying to find the right place in a country where the dangers seem to just follow you. And, as the song says, it can almost kill you.