I think it’s important to remember that this was written while the Bosnian War and the siege of Sarajevo were raging (“Lucky,” in fact, was written for an album cut by various artists, with sales earmarked for support of Bosnian refugees). So Europe was descending into war for the first time since WWII.

With that as the background, this song addresses the horror of life. The normalcy of buildings feels oppressive when you’re helpless to stop death and suffering. With time, we forget the horror and violence. Our memory fades, and we forget the intensity of war and violence.

The lyrics then extend to the horror of existence and nature, the cracked eggs containing dead birds. Everywhere you look, you witness harshness, brutality, and death.

The song appears to end in an up note; immerse yourself in love. Love pulls us together, not apart. You could, however, also interpret that as love cocoons you from the nonstop pain that surrounds you, but I think the “world child” bit is a call to stand together, lest the horrors overtake us, and we all descend into the chaos of war, hate, and destruction. The song vaguely echoes T.S. Eliot’s “The Wasteland.”

Or…Thom got out of the wrong side of the bed that morning. Whatever it is, the song is gorgeous and the arpeggios are hauntingly beautiful (and tricky to play).