That Grand Illusion - Janis Ian

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