Tricks on Me

Here are the correct lyrics, taken from the CD booklet:

Tell a story of a life together Every house an allegory Like the smell of smoke it lingers on Memory

Been a long and an uphill battle Had to learn how to pray Never miracles It's only hope dowsing pain

My eyes play tricks on me The line fades 'tween sky and sea Miles away, the hours of heartbreak In dark they're coming to get me

Tell a story of a life together Vigorous embrace Well, it's about you, Dove A little light across your face

My eyes play tricks on me The line fades 'tween sky and sea Miles away, the hours of heartbreak In dark they're coming to get me

Still the sound of everybody Crackle, house in flame And I avoid the shore 'til it calls out my name

My eyes play tricks on me Line fades 'tween sky and sea Miles away, the hours of heartbreak In dark they're coming to get me

This is a song about optimism vs. despair, and how does the singer know what's real? ("my eyes play tricks on me"). Is the fleeting smile on his lover's face real? How about his life together with her and the family they create? Must there be an end to it which results in heartbreak?

There's a wonderful bit of foreshadowing in the first stanza where the singer's life is remembered through the houses he's lived in. It seems kind of odd that he chooses smoke, rather than some happy smell, to call up his memories, but the smoke must have been lying in wait all along, to appear when his house goes up in flames.

The singer ultimately chooses optimism ("I avoid the shore 'til it calls out my name").