Well, without quoting any lyrics (no time right now), Black Star impresses me as a song about emotional straitjacketedness.
I assume (though I don't know) that the protagonist is a guy who works in some corporate job, is never home, keeps insane hours and has a wife at home who maybe keeps herself going with daytime television and anti-depressants. He steps in the door briefly, and she's still in her dressing gown.
What's the Black Star? Interesting image, kinda has a biblical ring to it - wormwood and all that. Sounds like a fob-off to me: the real problem is not falling heavens or apocalyptic visions, it is closer to the here and now. Their lives are out of control, so instead of admitting it he makes a quip about blaming it on, um, God maybe.
I distinctly admire how the music reflects all of this. The introductory fade-in with the chiming guitars feels like the end of something, not the start. Like a plane taking off or somebody leaving the last room they were in. The whole song feels like the closing credits to a film.
I actually think this kind of song is what Blur might have done on albums like The Great Escape, had their vision been more expansive...
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"And you'll be standing there, while the boats go by
While the boats go by on a Friday evening
Shining your light, shining your light on a Friday evening
Got to slip away, got to slip away down that ancient highway
In a town called Paradise, in a town, in a town
All along, all along that road, all along that road
All along that road with the trancelike vision..."
[This message has been edited by Kieran McConville (edited 02-04-2002).]