This is a very interesting song given the variation in lyrics and music between the verses and the chorus. Lightfoot was trying to venture into the rock genre, thus the toughness of the words and thrumming electric guitar of the verses. Then the chorus by contrast is a soaring romantic interlude, where he extolls "the heavenly night with you". But there is still melancholy as his soul is "burnt out", they are in the "black of a bottomless hole". Even his dreams are "second hand", it exhibits a world weariness, as if he's gone this route before, they're used dreams and scenes.
The last verse seems to identify Lightfoot personally, as he says "my life is an endless rhyme" which references his professional life at the time as obssesively writing songs, being under recording contract. Then the line "my love's a paperback dream" references his love life and links it to If You Could Read My Mind, which also refers to a woman's view of their relationship being like a paperback novel. Here he's saying his love is not real, it's a dream from a paperback.
This is a very interesting song given the variation in lyrics and music between the verses and the chorus. Lightfoot was trying to venture into the rock genre, thus the toughness of the words and thrumming electric guitar of the verses. Then the chorus by contrast is a soaring romantic interlude, where he extolls "the heavenly night with you". But there is still melancholy as his soul is "burnt out", they are in the "black of a bottomless hole". Even his dreams are "second hand", it exhibits a world weariness, as if he's gone this route before, they're used dreams and scenes.
The last verse seems to identify Lightfoot personally, as he says "my life is an endless rhyme" which references his professional life at the time as obssesively writing songs, being under recording contract. Then the line "my love's a paperback dream" references his love life and links it to If You Could Read My Mind, which also refers to a woman's view of their relationship being like a paperback novel. Here he's saying his love is not real, it's a dream from a paperback.