The meaning of the song in the context of the album has already been stated a couple of times. I just wanted to add that the song also works as a general story about how using any means necessary to reach your goals can sometimes make your eventual victory hollow and meaningless. As a topical pop-culture reference, Breaking Bad features a very similar storyline where Walt slowly destroys every reason he had for his actions in the first place, until he is left alone and broken with his mountain of money and blood on his hands.
Also, for anyone who likes the song, I would strongly suggest checking out the live performance version on "Be Live", it's an extremely touching version.
The meaning of the song in the context of the album has already been stated a couple of times. I just wanted to add that the song also works as a general story about how using any means necessary to reach your goals can sometimes make your eventual victory hollow and meaningless. As a topical pop-culture reference, Breaking Bad features a very similar storyline where Walt slowly destroys every reason he had for his actions in the first place, until he is left alone and broken with his mountain of money and blood on his hands.
Also, for anyone who likes the song, I would strongly suggest checking out the live performance version on "Be Live", it's an extremely touching version.