Song Meaning
The lyrics present love as a series of fleeting, often contradictory, states and objects. It's a "fashion" and a "war," a "hairdo" and a "see-saw," capturing both superficial trends and intense conflict. This rapid-fire enumeration suggests love's multifaceted and unpredictable nature, a constant flux that defies easy definition. The imagery swings from the mundane to the dramatic, highlighting how love can feel both trivial and all-consuming.
The dominant emotional tension arises from the stark contrast between the diverse, sometimes jarring, metaphors for love and the relentless, almost hypnotic repetition of "It comes and goes." This refrain underscores a sense of impermanence, a cyclical pattern of arrival and departure that seems to be the only constant. The lyrics suggest that while love can manifest in countless ways – as a "crush," a "queen," or a "speedy motorcycle" – its ultimate trajectory is one of transience.
The most striking craft element is the sheer breadth of comparisons, moving from the ephemeral "fashion" and "hairdo" to the more potent "war" and "arrow." This deliberate juxtaposition creates a dizzying effect, mirroring the chaotic experience of navigating love's unpredictable terrain. The shift from external, objectified metaphors to more abstract concepts like "a lapse of rhyme and reason" further emphasizes love's irrational and overwhelming power.
Ultimately, these lyrics resonate because they capture the bewildering, often disorienting, experience of love. By presenting love as a series of disparate, transient phenomena, the writing validates the feeling of being swept up in something powerful yet uncontrollable. The insistent "comes and goes" acts as an anchor, a stark reminder of love's ephemeral quality, making its various manifestations feel both precious and precarious.