[Killer Whale Tank]

Great analysis of AT indeed. My only addendum would be that perhaps the 'glittering chance at transformation' is the illness itself. The song is full of helplessness and regret at, basically, being an inadequate asshole before the illness struck. Maybe the song is about that realization and that, if she comes through it, he/they/everything will be different. So the game going quiet, etc., is the revelation that this disaster could become a transformative moment - to be kind, a better person, the goods, etc..

If so, then there is hope at the heart of the song.

On another note, the lyrics to GA are anything but tongue in cheek. That is a cold-assed account of Canadian colonialism, no quarter given.