Return to Fantasy

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a picture of a persistent, almost desperate search for something more, a "piece of the action" that feels just out of reach. The narrator describes a daily, outward "searching" and "looking," yet hints at an internal struggle, posing "choice is the question." This sets up a tension between external striving and an internal, perhaps unrealized, potential, like a "hungry poet who doesn't know / He is close to perfection." The core of the song seems to be about escaping the mundane reality for a more vibrant, shared imaginative space. The repeated "Moonlight night after moonlight night" suggests a recurring, almost ritualistic retreat. The phrase "But if they cared to look, then they would see" implies a disconnect between the observers and the participants, highlighting that this "return to fantasy" is a private, perhaps misunderstood, experience. The overwhelming repetition of "fantasy" in the chorus emphasizes its central importance and the allure of this escapist realm. One of the most compelling aspects is the exploration of an inner self that is being "abusing" by the "person you're using." This suggests a conflict between one's authentic desires or potential and the constructed persona or responsibilities of daily life. The lyrics propose that within everyone "there's another being" yearning to be unleashed, and that this internal duality is a fundamental human need, a "need to unwind that's never been defined." Ultimately, the song functions as an invitation to embrace this inner world, to "open your minds" and join in a collective imaginative escape. The bridge, with its imagery of "traveling faster than lightning" and reaching "the legend of mystery," amplifies the power and allure of this fantasy. It offers a destination, "the land of the good and the kind," as an alternative to the "sinking" state of those who remain trapped in a less fulfilling reality, making the appeal of fantasy feel like a necessary act of self-preservation and discovery.