The person who says this song is about recovering from drug addiction is an idiot. It's about King Louis xvi and the French Revolution. It starts when he first became king, and he in essence "ruled the world". Then, all of a sudden, the third (commoners) estate decided to rebel against the First (clergy) and Second (Monarchy/aristocracy) estates. Things were then not so good for King Louis, hence the "revolutionaries wait for my head on a silver plate" (the guillotine was used to behead the enemies of the revolution). Just look at the album cover, and the flag that the woman in the painting is holding: It's France's flag, and the title (which is in French) of this song is the same as the album. This is not a coincidence. Ultimately, the song is about how you can feel like you rule the world one minute, but the next feel that everything and everyone around you has turned on you. Power is fleeting and fickle.