Part I: Explication
To be honest, I have no idea what this song/poem is about. Of course, that probably has to do, in large part, with the fact that I decipher poetry about as well as I dunk a basketball. Alas, I cannot dunk a basketball. Soooo...yeah. Anyway, there is a reference to the Ides of March, the time in which Caesar was assassinated, I believe. There are references to violets, which, for me, elicits the image of spring, of growth, of new life. The first line seems to talk about the development of a child--late bloomers, perhaps. Then you have diametrically opposed elements: water and fire. In the next couplet, also oppositions: first and last. There also seems to be more reversals what with "first things first" being switched to "first things last." Then you have contradictory lines: "and the night is long" and "the night is brief." Could this be about life and death? It begins with images of spring and ends with a reference to Caesar's assassination. You also have the lines: "ashes to ashes" and "dust to dust." As a unified whole, the best I can come up with is a nihilistic view on life. All of the contradictions could be an extended metaphor for life's disappointments: things never turn out the way you expect.
Part II: Did the song change anything?
Besides sounding decidedly different than the cadence I had imagined in my head, no. I think the message remains the same. To me it's all a bit esoteric, though. I can't quite wrap my head around this one.
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