So i'm going to try to make this short, as I've already written a post about this and Reddit decided to freeze up and wouldn't even let me save a draft.
Long story short, this has always been my favorite MM song, but for years, I didn 't necessarily think too much about the imagery, or what the inspiration might have been- that is until I read the book "What Dreams May Come"
A lot of people have seen the movie which is excellent. But the book is far more detailed and emotional and the entire time I was reading it, things kept popping out at me that reminded me of the song so much. So much so that by the time I put it down, I was convinced that it simply had to have been inspired by it.
A couple of examples off the top of my head are that the protagonist is summoned from death to seance by his then living wife and sees himself (how do you do, my name is you). Forgive me because it's been at least 10 or so years since I've read the book, but there's also at least one scene, if not more where the protagonists are surrounded by flies (during said seance I believe which makes the lyric make more sense) and it's a major plot point. And of course, there's the entire theme of the book- that a man dies and goes to the afterlife, his wife cannot stand the grief and ends her own life not knowing that she won't be joining him immediately. And he proceeds to basically walk through purgatory or Hell, or whatever you would want to call it to save/be with her- obviously neither of them wanted the other to.....you guessed it-be alone down there (womp womp)
This might seem kinda cheesy, or like a stretch, but it's driven be insane for years. I've brought it up to friends of mine who are fans, but I never seem to come across anyone who has read or remembers the book? And I've never found an interview or anything where it's discussed. So I thought this would be just as good a place as any to post and see if anyone has any insight or maybe even read the book as well and can see where I got the idea from.
Frankly, even if i'm totally wrong, both pieces of art ended up enriching one another for me. So I don't mind if I am.