Welcome to the Grand illusion
Come on in and see what's happening
Pay the price, get your tickets for the show
The stage is set, the band starts playing
Suddenly your heart is pounding
Wishing secretly you were a star.

But don't be fooled by the radio
The TV or the magazines
They show you photographs of how your life should be
But they're just someone else's fantasy
So if you think your life is complete confusion
Because you never win the game
Just remember that it's a Grand illusion
And deep inside we're all the same.
We're all the same...

So if you think your life is complete confusion
Because your neighbors got it made
Just remember that it's a Grand illusion
And deep inside we're all the same.
We're all the same...

America spells competition, join us in our blind ambition
Get yourself a brand new motor car
Someday soon we'll stop to ponder what on Earth's this spell we're under
We made the grade and still we wonder who the hell we are



Interpretation

It's easy to buy in to the media-induced fantasy about what is important in life, but, as Dennis says in concert, "that's all bullsh**.!" Who you are inside is what really matters.

You see the world through your cynical eyes
You're a troubled young man I can tell
You've got it all in the palm of your hand
But your hand's wet with sweat and your head needs a rest

And you're fooling yourself if you don't believe it
You're kidding yourself if you don't believe it
How can you be such an angry young man
When your future looks quite bright to me
How can there be such a sinister plan
That could hide such a lamb, such a caring young man

You're fooling yourself if you don't believe it
You're kidding yourself if you don't believe it
Get up, get back on your feet
You're the one they can't beat and you know it
Come on, let's see what you've got
Just take your best shot and don't blow it

You're fooling yourself if you don't believe it
You're killing yourself if you don't believe it
Get up, get back on your feet
You're the one they can't beat and you know it
Come on, let's see what you've got
Just take your best shot and don't blow it.



Interpretation

Don't get mad at the world or give up hope just because of a few set-backs. Perservere--you're worth it.

You've read about me in the papers
You've seen me on the movie screen
You know everything about me
I'm your late night fantasy

But don't think I can't hear you calling
From the shadow of the 14th row
Cause I've had the same dreams you've had
A few short years ago and that's why I know

You and I
We will climb so high
Superstars
Whoa whoa you and I

And we'll just close our eyes
And we'll become our fantasy

Superstars yes, yes, superstars
Step right this way. Everyone's welcome,
We want your dreams.
The offer's simple, momentary immortality

Cause I've seen them all you know
I've seen them climb and I've seen them fall
I've seen them come and I've seen them go
And through it all there's only one thing that matters

Love - And that's simply
You and I
Yes, You and I
For we are superstars



Interpretation

To be a world-famous superstar is usually a fleeting thing, a fantasy. Love is what really matters, not fame.

I'm sailing away, set an open course for the virgin sea
I've got to be free, free to face the life that's ahead of me
On board, I'm the captain, so climb aboard
We'll search for tomorrow on every shore
And I'll try, oh Lord, I'll try to carry on

I look to the sea, reflections in the waves spark my memory
Some happy, some sad
I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had
We live happily forever, so the story goes
But somehow we missed out on that pot of gold
But we'll try best that we can to carry on

A gathering of angels appeared above my head
They sang to me this song of hope, and this is what they said
They said come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me

I thought that they were angels, but to my surprise
They climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies
Singing come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me



Interpretation

Come Sail Away is about reaching for your dreams (not about UFOs and alien encounters). The angels and the aliens are figurative voices encouraging you to "come sail away" to wherever your dreams would take you.

La traduction fran?aise

You were the apple of the public's eye as you cut the ribbon at the local mall
A mirage for both you and us. How can it be real?
We love your body in that photograph, your home state sure must be proud
The queen of the United States, or have you lost your crown

Well aren't you Miss America
Don't you Miss America
Won't you Miss America
Our love

Well are you really who we think you are
Or does that smile seem to wear you down
This girl who you once were is screaming jump out
This dream that you must live - a disease for which there is no cure
This roller coaster ride you're on won't stop to let you off

Well aren't you Miss America
Don't you Miss America
Won't you Miss America
Our love

Miss America, Miss America
Miss America, Miss America

Well it's true just take a look - The cover sometimes makes the book
And the judges, do they ever ask to read between your lines
And in your cage at the human zoo, they all stop to look at you
Next year, what will you do when you have been forgotten

Well aren't you Miss America
Don't you Miss America
Won't you Miss America
Our love



Interpretation

All the glitz and glamor of the Miss America pageant is a fantasy that overshadows the women who participate. The reality is not as pretty and can actually be quite ugly, likening "the dream" to "a disease". When her reign ends after a year, the spotlight moves to a new Miss America, leaving the former Miss America with little or nothing to show for her trouble, forgotten.

Another year has passed me by
Still I look a myself and cry
What kind of man have I become?
All of the years I've spent in search of myself
And I'm still in the dark
'Cause I can't seem to find the light alone

Sometimes I feel like a man in the wilderness
I'm a lonely soldier off to war
Sent away to die - never quite knowing why
Sometimes it makes no sense at all

Ten Thousand people look my way
But they can't see the way that I feel
Nobody even cares to try
I spend my life and sell my soul on the road
And I'm still in the dark
'Cause I can't seem to find the light alone

Sometimes I feel like a man in the wilderness
I'm a lonely soldier lost at sea
Drifting with the tide
Never quite knowing why
Sometimes it makes no sense at all

(I'm alive)
Looking for love I'm a man with emotion
(And my heart's on fire)
I'm dying of thirst in the middle of the ocean
I'm alive!



Interpretation

Even after achieving a notoriety and success that most can only dream of, it is possible to feel alone and vulnerable. Everyone has emotions, even superstars, and everyone needs to love and be loved.

La traduction fran?aise

Once in a dream
Far beyond these castle walls
Down by the bay where the
Moonlit water falls
I stood alone while the minstrel sang his song
So afraid I'd lost my soul

There in the fog his song kept calling me
Leading me on with its haunting melody
Deep in my heart a voice kept echoing
I knew I'd soon be wandering

Far beyond these castle walls
Where the distant harbour meets the sky
There the battle raged like hell
And every dove had lost its will to fly

Far beyond these castle walls
Where I thought I heard Tiresias say
Life is never what it seems
And every man must meet his destiny



Interpretation

Probably based on the epic Greek poem The Odyssey, by Homer. However, there are a few other interesting interpretations that may also be valid. Read on for a sampling of these additional viewpoints...

Sail Away Superstars
Sail Away Superstars

So if you think your life is complete confusion
Cause your neighbors got it made
Just remember, please, it's a grand illusion
And deep inside we're all the same.