There is a cogent effort on this string to interpret the song as a metaphor for heroin use. I must admit I wondered about the same possibility. But I believe the song is simply a beautiful imagistic musical tribute to a young lady that has either caught the author's fascination or is an idealized product of his imagination. The drug interpretation can be applied to many songs (as the Michelle Pfeiffer character does to Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" in the film "Dangerous Minds." That interpretation is rather forced and falls way down the list of plausibility for that joyful anthem to imagination and freedom from stress and responsibility. So I'm with those who see "Cinnamon Girl" as a very well crafted bit of youthful romantic idealism.
There is a cogent effort on this string to interpret the song as a metaphor for heroin use. I must admit I wondered about the same possibility. But I believe the song is simply a beautiful imagistic musical tribute to a young lady that has either caught the author's fascination or is an idealized product of his imagination. The drug interpretation can be applied to many songs (as the Michelle Pfeiffer character does to Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" in the film "Dangerous Minds." That interpretation is rather forced and falls way down the list of plausibility for that joyful anthem to imagination and freedom from stress and responsibility. So I'm with those who see "Cinnamon Girl" as a very well crafted bit of youthful romantic idealism.