But Not for Me

The speaker feels excluded from the happiness promised by love songs and good fortune. He fell in love, but the relationship seems not to have worked out. His mood mixes disappointment with a rueful, almost playful acceptance: he calls himself a fool, yet admits that the experience still matters to him.

“Not for me” is a repeated way of saying that love and luck seem to happen to other people, not to the speaker. The “lucky star” suggests good fortune, while “clouds of grey” represent sadness and trouble. The comparison to a Russian play exaggerates how gloomy his troubles feel. “Can’t dismiss the memory” means he cannot simply ignore or forget the kiss.

The lyrics leave some details open. We do not know why the woman is “not for” him, or whether she has rejected him, moved on, or is simply unavailable. The speaker’s joking expressions of sorrow soften the pain, but they do not erase it: he still remembers the kiss even as he tells himself the love was not meant to be.