So as a result of that radio station I mentioned earlier, I had, for a while, that Gordon Lightfoot song "If You Could Read My Mind" stuck in my head. Listening to this song made me feel the way people must feel when they are following everything I'm saying until I fog the issue by trying to explain it through a metaphor based on particle physics or something, only he starts with the bizarre metaphor and then (fortunately) moves on to progressively less bizarre metaphors and finally to plain explanation of how he feels.
Let's analyze some of the lyrics.
If you could read my mind, love, what a tale my thoughts would tell,
Ok, the intro. So far all right.
Just like an old-time movie about a ghost from a wishing well
Whoops, now you've lost me. But I don't know that much about movies, so maybe I'll just take old Gordon's word for it that ghosts from wishing wells are a standard feature of old-time movies.
In a castle dark, or a fortress strong, with chains upon my feet.
Wait a minute, forget wishing wells - he's imprisoned in a castle or a fortress with chains. Even though he's a ghost. Someone tell me if you know of movies where this is a standard plot so I can understand what's going on.
You know the ghost is me.
Ok, the ghost is you, and...
And I will never be set free as long as I'm a ghost that you can't see.
Wait, wait, try to imagine what the movie script would be like. There're so many unanswered questions. How did the ghost get from the wishing well to the castle? Who imprisoned him and why? Somewhat improbably, someone's managed to chain him up in there, even though he's a ghost (ghosts typically being known for their incorporeality), and invisible. Yet he can't be set free unless he either stops being a ghost or at least stops being invisible. Now I'm totally confused.
Perhaps the narrator is like a ghost in a dungeon in that his thoughts are invisible (like a ghost) and walled up inside his head (a sort of a fortress), and thus the captive ghost is a metaphor for his inability to manifest what he's thinking and feeling to his girlfriend. Even though this is clever, it still sounds like one of those things that made sense in your dream, but then when you woke up and tried to explain it to people they didn't get it. Plus the confusion of, '"Y'know, it's like in that movie." - "No, I don't know.'
Add to the weirdness the fact that the way the music goes gives it a fair amount of emotional earnestness, if your friends don't know the song, they're likely to wonder what you've been smoking.
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