I agree with @Retroperiscopes interpretation. I wanted to add that the line about the light being drained, seemingly paradoxically leaving him "black" and "healthy" does make a lot of sense, if you think of it in terms of being leeched dry, a bloodletting. He pronounces "healthy" with emphasis on the "HELL," as a Lydonesque pun, which reinforces the message that the situation is actually hellish, barbaric and anything but healthy. That's how we view bloodletting via leeches now, but at one point this was widely accepted medical practice. The health effects of being in toxic environments are widely acknowledged now. It's common sense. PTSD hadn't yet been included in the DSM until a year after this song was released.
I agree with @Retroperiscopes interpretation. I wanted to add that the line about the light being drained, seemingly paradoxically leaving him "black" and "healthy" does make a lot of sense, if you think of it in terms of being leeched dry, a bloodletting. He pronounces "healthy" with emphasis on the "HELL," as a Lydonesque pun, which reinforces the message that the situation is actually hellish, barbaric and anything but healthy. That's how we view bloodletting via leeches now, but at one point this was widely accepted medical practice. The health effects of being in toxic environments are widely acknowledged now. It's common sense. PTSD hadn't yet been included in the DSM until a year after this song was released.