Wow, what a question. Makes me wonder how I could've sung the sung for all these years without ever really asking it, but I have to admit that it never occurred to me.

I guess my answer would be that the song is of a piece with Donovan's "Catch the Wind," Stan Rogers' "Bits and Pieces," and Richard Thompson's "Bee's Wing" -- more a comment on the inevitability of a breakup (and maybe an acknowledgment of mutual responsibility for it) than an accusation. Not quite sarcastic, but not quite "all right" either. Just a statement of reality with an undercurrent of wishing it were different...

So, how do you see it?