Thanks for the Bill dream story. In a way I'm sorry as I thought it was sheer invention. Rather than existing friends that we had never met physically (song well before social media) I'd always taken this as heading to meet up with completely unknown folks who would become freinds.
Reading words as a poem gives time to consider and interpret the finer detail. When sung the audience has to take the overall song on board as fast as it is sung so I'm always careful with phrasing and timing and I do alter songs to try and help assimilation though that can only go as far as I understand the song myself. I haven't consciously altered this one but I'll have another look at the original.