One of the first things I noticed when I first read the lyrics was how he kept referring to time. I knew it was important and I've been thinking about it for a few years. I feel like it refers to seizing the day. He's weighing the consequences of either living in this time and breaking down the barriers to being happy right now or thinking about the future and what people will think about his cheating, particularly how Deborah would feel. However, since he had decided as a teenager that he would kill himself in his early twenties, the choice he would lean towards is obvious.
In truth, I really feel a lot more sorry for Deborah in regards to the love affair. He really was a selfish bastard in a true description of a suicidal person. As she said in her book, her marriage was over and nobody had told her. She also said the words she chose for the tombstone described exactly what happened: "Love will tear us apart".
But what I really like about this song is the 'fuck you world, I'm just going to feel good' in the song's message - "Notice whom for wheels are turning, turn again and turn towards this time" (I don't care about what is fated), "Word will travel, oh so quickly, travel first and lean towards this time" (I don't care about what society will say), "Oh, I'll break them down, no mercy shown, heaven knows, it's got to be this time" (I'm gonna take hold of this life). It's nice because this narcissistic YOLO-ism is taken with a healthy dose of self-doubt and honest descriptions of the human condition (my favorite line is "This is why events unnerve me").
I think the whole song is pretty much to Deb. It's part apology but part "thanks" for putting up with him and it will all pay off soon (in the form of royalty checks..which took a while, but did). I was around when all this was going down and I firmly believe that. They often joked about the shithole they lived in (Macclesfield) and how it would be nice to live in "avenues all lined with trees". And this is his way of promising her she and his Daughter would have just that...just put up with him and often "think...
I think the whole song is pretty much to Deb. It's part apology but part "thanks" for putting up with him and it will all pay off soon (in the form of royalty checks..which took a while, but did). I was around when all this was going down and I firmly believe that. They often joked about the shithole they lived in (Macclesfield) and how it would be nice to live in "avenues all lined with trees". And this is his way of promising her she and his Daughter would have just that...just put up with him and often "think of me".
One of the first things I noticed when I first read the lyrics was how he kept referring to time. I knew it was important and I've been thinking about it for a few years. I feel like it refers to seizing the day. He's weighing the consequences of either living in this time and breaking down the barriers to being happy right now or thinking about the future and what people will think about his cheating, particularly how Deborah would feel. However, since he had decided as a teenager that he would kill himself in his early twenties, the choice he would lean towards is obvious.
In truth, I really feel a lot more sorry for Deborah in regards to the love affair. He really was a selfish bastard in a true description of a suicidal person. As she said in her book, her marriage was over and nobody had told her. She also said the words she chose for the tombstone described exactly what happened: "Love will tear us apart".
But what I really like about this song is the 'fuck you world, I'm just going to feel good' in the song's message - "Notice whom for wheels are turning, turn again and turn towards this time" (I don't care about what is fated), "Word will travel, oh so quickly, travel first and lean towards this time" (I don't care about what society will say), "Oh, I'll break them down, no mercy shown, heaven knows, it's got to be this time" (I'm gonna take hold of this life). It's nice because this narcissistic YOLO-ism is taken with a healthy dose of self-doubt and honest descriptions of the human condition (my favorite line is "This is why events unnerve me").
I think the whole song is pretty much to Deb. It's part apology but part "thanks" for putting up with him and it will all pay off soon (in the form of royalty checks..which took a while, but did). I was around when all this was going down and I firmly believe that. They often joked about the shithole they lived in (Macclesfield) and how it would be nice to live in "avenues all lined with trees". And this is his way of promising her she and his Daughter would have just that...just put up with him and often "think...
I think the whole song is pretty much to Deb. It's part apology but part "thanks" for putting up with him and it will all pay off soon (in the form of royalty checks..which took a while, but did). I was around when all this was going down and I firmly believe that. They often joked about the shithole they lived in (Macclesfield) and how it would be nice to live in "avenues all lined with trees". And this is his way of promising her she and his Daughter would have just that...just put up with him and often "think of me".