Destination: Delusion

The first thing you hear is the bass, and it is mixed way too hot. That determined lack of subtlety is strange for a song whose lyrics have to be puzzled out in the quiet of the mind.

It wouldn't be the first time a lyricist had used the seasons and the elements to convey emotional states. The genius here is that the metaphors are so slippery and tentative, you don't realize until the last verse what's happening:

I want to go home though the party's not over
Don't want to go back to no ignorant lies
For when I go I intend to believe
That the sun rises and sets in your eyes

This is willful escape into a world of fantasy, as seductive as the approach of summer itself. Who knows how long she'll go on before she realizes that the object of her affection hasn't joined in the fantasy? Who knows how long she'll will herself to hear whispers of summer, even as winter tightens its grip?

This is Eliza Carthy with "Whispers Of Summer".