Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a picture of a relationship that began with youthful optimism and has since started to fray. The opening lines, "Married young what's done is done," immediately establish a sense of irreversible commitment tinged with regret. The narrator contrasts the initial "soft and glistening" hopes with the current reality of "splintering" Swedish furnishings, suggesting a tangible decay in their domestic life. This juxtaposition highlights the painful realization that their youthful idealism might have been misplaced. The central tension lies in the narrator's internal conflict and their struggle to reconcile past choices with present disillusionment. They acknowledge the flaws and infidelities within the relationship – "Roll in the hay with dreadful infidels" – yet simultaneously defend its initial "bold, incendiary and new" nature. This creates a push-and-pull between self-recrimination and a desperate clinging to the memory of what once was, leaving them asking, "What are we to do?" A striking element is the narrator's questioning of morality and consequence in the face of their perceived failings. The plea, "trust me, trust me, trust me dear," juxtaposed with the idea of making "mistakes" and the whimsical, yet loaded, question, "Is there a sliding scale in Hell?" reveals a deep uncertainty about their spiritual or ethical standing. The phrase "beautiful decay" further encapsulates this complex emotional state, finding a strange aesthetic in the unraveling of their shared life. Ultimately, the effectiveness of these lyrics stems from their raw honesty and the narrator's vulnerability. The repeated refrain, "Married young what's done is done," acts as a somber anchor, emphasizing the weight of their early decisions. The final lines, "We're too young, we peak too soon / What are we to do?" encapsulate a profound sense of youthful regret and a dawning, perhaps premature, awareness of limitations, leaving the listener with a poignant sense of what might have been.