The Riddle

The lyrics move between a speaker’s personal hopes and a repeated, mysterious scene. The speaker seems to want a future with someone, but also admits uncertainty and distance. The refrain’s old man circles near a river, while the speaker returns to thoughts of right and wrong and of someone who will not compete for the beloved. The mood is dreamlike, mixing longing with resignation.

Several images suggest possible meanings without forming a clear story. The old man “goes around and around” may represent a mind caught in repetition or a life following a fixed pattern. Calling his mind a “beacon” suggests a guiding light in darkness, though the surrounding “veil” makes that guidance hard to see. “Seasons of gasoline and gold” combines something volatile and valuable, perhaps hinting at a time of danger mixed with promise. The blackbird singing adds a small image of freedom or natural instinct.

The lyrics do not explain who the old man is, what the “riddle” refers to, or exactly why others might fight over the person addressed. The odd, shifting phrases may be meant to create atmosphere rather than tell a literal sequence of events. One reading is that the speaker feels caught between desire, confusion, and a wish to avoid conflict; other listeners may hear the repeated images as deliberately open-ended.