“But it couldn’t be better, I know
And it shouldn’t be easier
I should just stop waiting for the other boot to fall”
– Glen Phillips, “Easier”

“There was a young man who said, though,
It seems that I know that I know,
What I would like to see,
Is the ‘I’ that knows ‘me’,
When I know that I know that I know.”
–Alan Watts

Once I used to believe
I was such a great romancer
Then I came home to a woman
That I could not recognize
When I pressed her for a reason
She refused to even answer
It was then I felt the stranger
Kick me right between the eyes

Well we all fall in love
But we disregard the danger
Though we share so many secrets
There are some we never tell
Why were you so surprised
That you never saw the stranger
Did you ever let your lover see
The stranger in yourself?

Don’t be afraid to try again
Everyone goes south
Every now and then
You’ve done it why can’t
Someone else?
You should know by now
You’ve been there yourself

You may never understand
How the stranger is inspired
But he isn’t always evil
And he is not always wrong
Though you drown in good intentions
You will never quench the fire
You’ll give in to your desire
When the stranger comes along.
–Billy Joel, “The Stranger”

the opening shot of kubla-khan’s… i mean, citizen kane’s “stately pleasure-dome”:

Sometimes I see your face,
The stars seem to lose their place
Why must I think of you?
Why must I?
Why should I?
Why should I cry for you?
Why would you want me to?
And what would it mean to say,
That, “I loved you in my fashion”?
–Sting, “Why Should I Cry For You”