This Time

The speaker is strongly attracted to a woman and spends much of his time imagining her. At first, he feels confident that this time things will work out, but his confidence sits alongside disappointment: when he tries to speak, she walks away. The song moves between hopeful fantasy and the difficulty of reaching someone who is far away.

“An image burnin’ in my mind” suggests that thoughts of her are vivid and hard to put aside. His imagination “runnin’ wild” means he is building up possibilities in his mind, perhaps beyond what has actually happened. The repeated claim that he will “make her mine” expresses determination, but it can also sound possessive: the lyrics focus more on his desire than on what she wants. “Turn up your radio” seems to be a way of asking her to listen to a message he cannot easily deliver face to face.

The speaker says everything is easy and certain, yet also admits that she is miles away and that he has waited a long time. This contrast may show that his confidence is partly a hopeful self-persuasion rather than proof that the relationship will happen. The ending leaves the outcome unresolved: he still expects a chance to tell her how he feels, but the lyrics do not confirm that she will respond as he hopes.