They Know What They're Doing

A song about a kind of envious visionary identification with others. It is by no means the truth about those others, but it is often confused with it because it is so strong. Strong identifications of this sort are not with the actual object, but with your apprehension of it. Not only is it not true, it can be dangerous. But, such is the nature of much lyric poetry. And we keenly desire the power of such senses of identification. "Hyacinth Boy", a song about infatuation, a common enough experience in adolescence, is very similar. (GG, 10/2026)