Interpretation
The song 'Longfellow Serenade' by
Neil Diamond describes a romantic encounter between two lonely individuals who come together in a night and share their loneliness.
Neil Diamond refers to himself as a dreamer with only words to trade, and the woman as a lady. 'For she was a lady, And I was a dreamer, With only words to trade'. This suggests that the narrator expresses himself through his poetry and tries to establish a connection with the lady through his words.
The line 'You know that I was born for a night like this, Warmed by a stolen kiss' speaks of a predestined romantic encounter that is warmed by a stolen kiss. It is a night that both the narrator and the lady need, because they are both lonely.
The chorus 'Ride, come on baby, ride, Let me make your dreams come true, I'll sing my song, Let me sing my song, Let me make it warm for you' contains an invitation to the lady. The narrator wants to make her dreams come true and warm her with his song - again, a reference to his poetry as a means of communication and connection.
The line 'I'll weave his web of rhyme, Upon the summer night' shows the narrator's intention to weave a web of rhymes to enchant the lady and pull her out of their shared loneliness.
At the end of the song, 'Then come, and as we lay, Beside this sleepy glade, There I will sing to you, My Longfellow serenade', he sings her his serenade, a love song written for her. The title 'Longfellow Serenade' could be a reference to the famous American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, underscoring the importance of poetry in this song.
Overall, 'Longfellow Serenade' is a song about the power of poetry to bring people together and free them from their loneliness by creating a romantic connection and a shared human experience.