I wish he’d finally explain all the symbolisms in his 7 minute song.
People have been asking him about it for nearly 50 years and he still refuses to explain.
It’s like HOTEL CALIFORNIA, you can put in any meaning you want in the song.
Why, it‘s a tribute to Jethro Tull’s “We Used to Know “ of course. 😏
It was about the death of Buddy Holly and others. Judging by the lyrics, I think he was thinking, only the devil could be responsible for something like that and was questioning how God could let it happen. (three men I admire most, Father Son& Holy Ghost - caught the last train for the coast - fire is the devil’s only friend - church bells all were broken etc)
“Soon after takeoff, the plane crashed, killing Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, and pilot Roger Peterson in a tragedy later referred to by Don McLean as “The Day the Music Died” in his song “American Pie”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Holly
One of Glenn Beck’s Fox shows was on this song & the symbolism in it. Might be available still on youtube.
“...you can put in any meaning you want in the song....”
...but, you can never leave.
Actually it’s all pretty straight forward. There’s a bunch of explanations on the web most of them are largely in agreement. Here’s the best presentation (overall great channel): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNpwisKEYdU
Hotel California is also quite straight forward.