The lyric deals with love and sorrow, the aphorism with contradiction and deceit.
Self-conscious? Try a wig, a corset, a veil, a beard. Or cultivate shamelessness.
Cynicism formulates issues clearly, but only to dismiss them.
Ladies and gentlemen are supposed to be looked after by others, like children and pets.
Drunks do not have friends, but accomplices.
The privacy of reading frees us to entertain the alien.