I was struck by a comment made by McGrath of H. on an earlier thread; he was able to articulate an elusive feeling that was evoked by this song, for me anyway (and him, apparently!) when it came out. His comment bears repeating, I think:

"I remember getting a sensation of being pushed forward a good few years (to about now, maybe) in order to be able to look back and feel nostalgic for the period in which I was actually living.

Which means now it becomes a matter of being nostalgic for being nostalgic... "

Although for me, I was young enough when the song came out that it gave me a kind of anticipatory nostalgia for the period in which I imagined myself living perhaps ten years later ...