I feel this song is about generational reconciliation. The ostensible start is an exuberant triumph of youth against 9-to-5'ers -- " And when you're out of fuel, I'm still afloat." Eternal youth -- ocean doesn't run out fuel -- is contrasted against the constraints of the industrialized world. Then comes the unexpected -- a solemn, lamenting refrain. "All along the undertow is strengthening its hold. I never though it'd come to this. Now I can never come home." The lyrics are fatal. Rivers is being engulfed by an ocean. The unbridled energy of nature can prove mortal, putting the restraints of adulthood in a new perspective. Brilliantly, Weezer weaves the opposing perspectives in a final and triumphant finale. The final coda, "You take your car, I'll take my board," become less sneering, and more understanding. A affirmation of coexistance, and I think, human love.
I feel this song is about generational reconciliation. The ostensible start is an exuberant triumph of youth against 9-to-5'ers -- " And when you're out of fuel, I'm still afloat." Eternal youth -- ocean doesn't run out fuel -- is contrasted against the constraints of the industrialized world. Then comes the unexpected -- a solemn, lamenting refrain. "All along the undertow is strengthening its hold. I never though it'd come to this. Now I can never come home." The lyrics are fatal. Rivers is being engulfed by an ocean. The unbridled energy of nature can prove mortal, putting the restraints of adulthood in a new perspective. Brilliantly, Weezer weaves the opposing perspectives in a final and triumphant finale. The final coda, "You take your car, I'll take my board," become less sneering, and more understanding. A affirmation of coexistance, and I think, human love.