The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Got to take in what I can.
There is no time to do what must be done,
While I do some thinking.
Sleeping is hard to come by,
So we'll all sit down and try to play in time,
And we feel like singing.
Talking to people in my way.
Blues were my favorite colour,
Til I looked around and found another song
That I felt like singing.
Trying so hard to reach you;
Playing what must be played, what must be sung
And it's what I'm singing.
Talking to people in my way.
There is no time to do what must be done,
While I do some thinking.
Sleeping is hard to come by,
So we'll all sit down and try to play in time,
And we feel like singing.
Talking to people in my way.
Blues were my favorite colour,
Til I looked around and found another song
That I felt like singing.
Trying so hard to reach you;
Playing what must be played, what must be sung
And it's what I'm singing.
Talking to people in my way.
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Start by reading my comments about the song "Nothing to Say" from this same album... that is part of the key to Jethro Tull in general, as is this song.
Anyway, looking at this song, Ian has this powerful urge to "do what must be done" as far as satisfying his own conscience that he has communicated important truths to people. Yet he feels it is "no time" to be doing that right now, because he has to "take in what (he) can" as far as making money, while he has the chance. As he said in the song "We Used to Know" off the "Stand Up" album, he felt the success of the band could be a case of "slowly upstairs, faster down."
So here he is, singing what he feels he must sing, but he is informing us that to do it without alienating fans and undermining his own success he plans to do it by "talking to people in (his own cryptic) way."
It is especially important to note that at one point in this song (in the album version, at least) it sounds very much like music being played backwards. I don't imagine there is any actual message encoded in there, but it is a clue for us to look deeper; that what we hear on the surface is not necessarily what he is actually saying.
I rather think this is just Ian’s straight-forward take on his experience as the singer/songwriter for Jethro Tull. He talks about the demands of finding time to take in new things to write about, sing them, practice with the band (play in time) and occasionally get some sleep. “Blues were my favourite colour” is an obvious reference to how Tull started as a blues band but quickly progressed to other styles (“I looked around and found another song I felt like singing”) which precipitated the departure of Mick Abrahams who wanted to remain in the blues genre. And “talking to people in my way” is probably about the drudgery of doing so many interviews as spokesman for the band. Backwards guitar - well, this was 1970, so it was probably just Martin Barre’s nod to the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix both of whom used that recording trick on some famous tracks.