To me it seems to be about drug/alcohol addiction and/or general confusion and delusion.
"At first a sharpish pain that returns as a thought
That the needle in your skin won't bring you closer to god"
"And the sparks are always flying cause you drink for relief"
The person is struggling, trying to find relief in their addiction, but still conscious enough to realize that they're not doing fine.
"All hopeless with old coffee and a medical text
It’s too easy knowing nothing blowing off the rest
And the riddles in the pages leaving too much to guess
And the worry cracks a fracture from your hip to your chest"
I think it's as if the person is overanalyzing everything. They get anxious about not having an answer to everything. The riddles is the pages seem to me as mysteries of life, ore problems that one can't resolve, no matter how much time and energy they spend trying to do so... And this very incapacity to find answers to these riddles creates an important worry to an already anxious mind. Perhaps that's what leads to the person addiction (or maybe what the addiction leads to, in fact.)
"I watch as your head turns full circle"
I see this as a metaphor of something cyclical. A never ending vicious circle, hard to get out of. Hence I think my previous paragraph goes along with this cycle. The person is lost ("lost in your travels and a spiritual book") and anxious, leading them to use more drugs/alcohol to try to find relief, to ease their mind. But the effect of the drugs/alcohol creates even more confusion and delusion, more anxiety... Then it starts over again.
Finally, despite this person's habits and addiction, despite their behaviour, he still has got support from the narrator of the song:
"Is that the best that I can do?
As I watch as your head turns full circle"
"With the heart of a child and the wit of a fool
It’s a wonder why I don’t try to build a wall around you"
The narrator recognizes the struggling person's good nature, good heart, but knows their mind and wit are not clean.
He knows the person needs help, he wants to provide them help, but yet knows he's helpless. He's wondering if it's the best he can do, if there's anything more he could do to help, as his friend is stuck in this never ending cycle.
The narrator sees that no matter he does, his friend is not doing any better, not changing, hence he wonders why he "doesn't try to build a wall around them"...
I think it's a rather sad song. Trying to help someone out of such a situation, or trying to help clearing their mind a little, but not achieving it.
I might be wayyyyy off, but that's how I personnally understand the lyrics!
No interpretations yet?!
Well... Here's my ramble, then!
To me it seems to be about drug/alcohol addiction and/or general confusion and delusion.
"At first a sharpish pain that returns as a thought That the needle in your skin won't bring you closer to god" "And the sparks are always flying cause you drink for relief"
The person is struggling, trying to find relief in their addiction, but still conscious enough to realize that they're not doing fine.
"All hopeless with old coffee and a medical text It’s too easy knowing nothing blowing off the rest And the riddles in the pages leaving too much to guess And the worry cracks a fracture from your hip to your chest"
I think it's as if the person is overanalyzing everything. They get anxious about not having an answer to everything. The riddles is the pages seem to me as mysteries of life, ore problems that one can't resolve, no matter how much time and energy they spend trying to do so... And this very incapacity to find answers to these riddles creates an important worry to an already anxious mind. Perhaps that's what leads to the person addiction (or maybe what the addiction leads to, in fact.)
"I watch as your head turns full circle"
I see this as a metaphor of something cyclical. A never ending vicious circle, hard to get out of. Hence I think my previous paragraph goes along with this cycle. The person is lost ("lost in your travels and a spiritual book") and anxious, leading them to use more drugs/alcohol to try to find relief, to ease their mind. But the effect of the drugs/alcohol creates even more confusion and delusion, more anxiety... Then it starts over again.
Finally, despite this person's habits and addiction, despite their behaviour, he still has got support from the narrator of the song:
"Is that the best that I can do? As I watch as your head turns full circle"
"With the heart of a child and the wit of a fool It’s a wonder why I don’t try to build a wall around you"
The narrator recognizes the struggling person's good nature, good heart, but knows their mind and wit are not clean. He knows the person needs help, he wants to provide them help, but yet knows he's helpless. He's wondering if it's the best he can do, if there's anything more he could do to help, as his friend is stuck in this never ending cycle.
The narrator sees that no matter he does, his friend is not doing any better, not changing, hence he wonders why he "doesn't try to build a wall around them"...
I think it's a rather sad song. Trying to help someone out of such a situation, or trying to help clearing their mind a little, but not achieving it.
I might be wayyyyy off, but that's how I personnally understand the lyrics!