To me, this song is about being afraid of growing old but from a musician's standpoint. In the verses, Thom describes old age (or at least what he's afraid of happening when he gets old)- "Shoulders, wrists, knees and back/ground to dust and ash," "now I can't climb the stairs," painkillers for his f*ed up joints, etc. In the chorus- "When you've got to feel it in your bones"- he's talking about being on stage and performing; you can't just be some crippled old man hunched over a guitar, you have to get into the music, to "feel it in your bones." He's afraid that he won't be able to do that when he's old. As for the bridge, it's probably a reference to the thing musicians do where they hold out their hands for the audience to touch them- "all the children flew when I touched their hands," again talking about what it's like to be on stage.
To me, this song is about being afraid of growing old but from a musician's standpoint. In the verses, Thom describes old age (or at least what he's afraid of happening when he gets old)- "Shoulders, wrists, knees and back/ground to dust and ash," "now I can't climb the stairs," painkillers for his f*ed up joints, etc. In the chorus- "When you've got to feel it in your bones"- he's talking about being on stage and performing; you can't just be some crippled old man hunched over a guitar, you have to get into the music, to "feel it in your bones." He's afraid that he won't be able to do that when he's old. As for the bridge, it's probably a reference to the thing musicians do where they hold out their hands for the audience to touch them- "all the children flew when I touched their hands," again talking about what it's like to be on stage.