Without getting too technical about the lyrics, this is how I interpret the song. I think it speaks to most people in the autumn of their lives. It's looking back on our lives and realizing that we fell short of what we wish we could have been. It's a human condition to fall short because we are all limited beings on this earth. It's part of that mystery of where we are going in the hereafter based on the lives we have lived. It's coming to that realization that each of us is ultimately responsible for our own life because each person is given free will. We may beg for mercy, but we don't feel like anyone is listening. We believe that we don't deserve Heaven based upon the life we lived when we actually felt that "we ruled the world." This is one of my favorite songs. It really speaks to me. I do have faith in the hereafter. God is always present even if we don't feel his presence.