Thanks for the write-up, dct. I'm not sure how much I'm willing to commit to the prophetic nature of the lines you quoted, though I can understand why one might read them that way. I still think the ultimate power of the song is how it manages to create this complex emotional hybrid out of hope and fear--subtract either from the equation and I think the song loses considerable effect.

I like that. And I think that's kind of the spot Waits was aiming at when writing. For some reason, I just never gave it much thought. Recently, though, it just hit me that this song probably isn't pointing toward a happy ending. But the whole album seems to be about loss and bygones.