Boulevard of Broken Dreams song meaning

Armstrong called Boulevard the 'hangover' song, and that's pretty much what it is. Coming after Holiday this song describes the feeling of loneliness that Jesus of Suburbia has to face after the party is over. After finally breaking free and entering the City, Jesus was excited and filled with expectations. But now the holiday is over, the confetti landed on the floor and the intoxication is wearing off - he looks around and finds himself alone on the street of the heartless city, empty in the morning darkness. Everything around him seems lifeless and only his vital signs prove that he's not dead as well. He's all alone...The phrase "I'm walking down the line that divides me somewhere in my mind" could be considered the beginning of St. Jimmy's appearance - Jesus doesn't want to be weak and vulnerable anymore, he wants to change.

Of course, there is more to this song than just Jesus' emotional hangover. Walking a lonely road is not only a one-time realization of your loneliness. Going through life on your own you get so used to the solitude that this lonely road becomes your home, and your actual life. Most songs about loneliness are a scream for help, an expression of despair and fear of being alone. Boulevard is different - the narrator accepts his life the way it is, he's used to it, no matter how horrible it might get or seem, this loneliness is his way. Only sometimes does he dream of someone finding him and saving him from his aloneness, but so far he doesn't know any better and is patiently waiting for a change.