it's never occured to me to wonder about the meaning of this song. maybe i was just distracted by that darn drumstick....

So, who is the Poor little rich boy, and what's this song about?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Be like the water, people.,

I think this is one of Reg's more literal songs about a wealthy young adult who is used to screwing around with his buddies, and suddenly is saddled with adult responsibilities when all of his buddies grow up. "They wanna kiss, and they got homes of their own."

At first, he's stuck in this juvenile, caricature almost of the classic "I can do whatever I want, because I've got money," rich kid. But then quite suddenly, his friends grow up without him, and he feels lonely, and angry, but is extremely privileged, and probably has a lot of opportunities that others don't. But he is cold and withdrawn, and it's not as if he can't feel, he just opts out. He prefers to be impassive, impassive to his girlfriend's worries about her weight, impassive to his mother.

"And you're so goddamn young," refers to the fact that he is literally so goddamn young, and has his entire life ahead of him to be mopey and lonely, and whine about his life, and yet he's gone straight from the teenage stage to being a lonely, grumpy old man. He's not experiencing his youth, the best years of his life, he's watching it fly by reading books and not putting real emotion into anything. He seems very intellectual, but almost a little too book smart, and not enough emotion smart, if that makes any sense.

I have such a clear image of this character in my mind, it's so frustrating not to be able to communicate it into words.

This song makes me think of Holden Caulfield

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Originally posted by grantsnx:
This song makes me think of Holden Caulfield

Me too! The first time I read Catcher in the Rye I kept thinking about P.L.R.B., actually!

^^^^^ I really like what almostspotless is saying about the character. Could it be that the "Poor Little Rich Boy" is saying the words of the song to himself (in third-person, of course), both in mopey self-pity, and in painful, frustrating awareness of his own faults? This seems to fit the brief self-assurance heard in "Oh, the world is okay." Followed by the put-down "They're both super-smart," meaning, "Hey you're reading these books but can't begin to grasp their genius, and despite all your money and freedom you'll never have as much worth as these guys."

The Holden Caulfield comparison makes a ton of sense (and I love love love that novel), but I think The Great Gatsby fits just a little bit more. First off, the PLRB is "reading Fitzgerald." And the start of the song makes me think of the end of a lavish party. The Poor Little Rich Boy hopes all of his guests can stay and keep him company forever, but they've paired off and are content with their own lives, leaving the boy to his lonely existence.

quote:

"They're both super-smart," meaning, "Hey you're reading these books but can't begin to grasp their genius, and despite all your money and freedom you'll never have as much worth as these guys

I always thought that she'd meant that neither of those authors are actually all that great, and little rich boy thinks they are, cause he's a sheep.

quote:

Originally posted by RaelNYC:

quote:

"They're both super-smart," meaning, "Hey you're reading these books but can't begin to grasp their genius, and despite all your money and freedom you'll never have as much worth as these guys

I always thought that she'd meant that neither of those authors are actually all that great, and little rich boy thinks they are, cause he's a sheep.

Oh that could be true... and it doesn't conflict with what I'm saying at all, cuz my interpretation has the PLRB talking to himself in third person.

I think he enjoys misery. Not even misery. Just every day drudgery, and then he paints it out as misery. I think he fancies himself a matyr.