Decadence

The speaker is addressing someone who seems selfish, emotionally distant, and focused on money rather than love or other people. The speaker may still be willing to return, but only if this person changes. The mood is firm and disappointed: affection is possible, but it depends on a real change in attitude.

“Costs more than dollars and cents” suggests that the problem cannot be solved with money; it requires care and better judgment. “Decadence” here means a self-indulgent way of living that ignores love, suffering, and “real life.” Calling it “fatal” and “the beginning of the end” makes this behavior sound destructive, both to the relationship and perhaps to the person living that way. “Fin-de-siècle pretence” points to a pose of stylish world-weariness or excess, rather than genuine engagement.

The lyrics can be read as a personal ultimatum, but their repeated concern with people and pain also gives them a broader moral tone. The speaker may be criticizing a whole lifestyle, not only one person. Still, the song does not explain what the other person has done or whether they will change, so the outcome remains uncertain. “Decadence” is presented as harmful, though the exact behavior meant by it is left open.