[potsie]

"I could've made chancellor without you on my mind" hints at falling short.

Or is it a romantic line? As in, success became less important to me once I found you.

I've never considered Chancellor to be a "romantic song" but as I look again at the lyrics I think you might be right, although the romanticism may be one-sided. The idea of that line being romantic also matches up better with the overall musical tone. Downie's singing voice sounds very much at ease. The narrator's career (or path in life) may have been derailed by love, but he's OK with that; there is no bitterness in Downie's voice and the buoyant piano playing adds to the feeling of a contented acceptance, as opposed to a sour resignation.

I don't think chancellor is literal... the line could have been written, "I could've made president without you on my mind" as that would have made the same point.

Right, but this could indicate that the choice of "chancellor" isn't random. Even the least dedicated songwriter would expect listeners to draw obvious conclusions about a song that has "chancellor" and "marching armies in the night". But how does that relate to vampires? I really don't get it.

The vampire as metaphor suggests a parasitic relationship. Who is the needy one in the story... the narrator or his lover? I think it's the narrator who's still "discovering uses" for his partner. He may be deriving his needs at the expense of his partner.

Both the "Crazy Daisies" (The Crazy Daisy Band) and "Wooden Stars" were bands that were active in the late 1990's, with Gord being connected to the Wooden Stars through Julie Doiron (the album Julie Doiron and the Wooden Stars was released in 1999). Although I'm not sure how any of this ties back into an interpretation of the song.,

Nice catch...I've never heard of The Crazy Daisy Band. But yes, Gord was openly a fan of Doiron's and reference her bands other times ("I played Love Tara, by Eric's Trip, on the day that you were born"). But what else do the things in the list have in common? At first I thought it was a list of things he likes, and the vampire is negativity (which wouldn't like things that Gord likes), but children smoking, marching armies and sloganeers aren't likable things, so that's out.

Agree that this list plays to both sides, positive and negative. A bit of a head-scratcher.