Song Meaning
The narrator is caught in a dizzying cycle of longing, fixated on an unknown "who" who has completely captured their attention. This "who" is the source of all their happiness and dreams, yet these dreams are tinged with an impossible melancholy. The lyrics paint a picture of someone utterly consumed, their waking hours filled with thoughts of this elusive figure, leading to a pervasive sense of "blue" that seems inescapable.
The central tension lies in the narrator's internal conflict between this overwhelming infatuation and a dawning self-awareness of their own indecision. They grapple with "a woman's intentions, her feminine inventions," suggesting a struggle to understand their own desires and motivations, admitting, "I simply can't make up my mind." This confusion propels them toward a logical, albeit emotionally fraught, "process of elimination" to identify the object of their affection.
The most striking aspect is the shift in the final chorus. The initial, persistent "blue" transforms into a hopeful "never be blue!" This isn't just a simple resolution; it's a dramatic reinterpretation of the entire situation. The "who" is finally revealed, not through logical deduction, but through a sudden, almost playful realization that the answer was always "you." The repeated question "Can it be, can it be, who can it be?" is answered with a triumphant, "Well you oughta guess who, who... No one but you!"
This lyrical arc is effective because it mirrors the often irrational and surprising nature of falling in love. The initial despair and confusion are relatable, making the eventual, joyful certainty feel earned and deeply satisfying. The craft here lies in the build-up of mystery and the subsequent, almost anticlimactic, reveal that the object of such intense contemplation was, in fact, already present and known, transforming the narrator's outlook entirely.