That Grand Illusion

(album: Janis Ian - 1978)

The gulls are crying
Missy, can you hear them call?
It was so easy then
When all our friends were small
How we used to like the old-time movies
The silent picture show
Where you make up your life
At the end of the night
As your reel to reels unfold

Now I come here to score some satisfaction
Maybe some more of that old reaction
I'm a junkie for that grand illusion
Who's losing and who's just using

I lost my virtue
Leading some double life, I fear
It was so easy then
When all our friends lived near
Now I'm left without an advertisement
To separate the marks and the shills
From these good time blues
And two-toned shoes
That used to give me chills

I come to score, or maybe more
I am a junkie for that grand illusion
Who's using who and losing?

The summer's fading
I can feel it go
It's slipping through my fingers
Like some broken radio
The sea gull's flying
Missy, can you hear them call
I remember you cried
When the summer died
Though I wouldn't cry at all