The central question of the song is the question "Why are there so many songs about rainbows?". Visually a rainbow is a vision, an illusion, and has no trickery about it. The speaker has heard there is a connection there, and the speaker knows others believe the connection exists. The speaker doesn't think the interpretation he's heard makes sense, but he thinks he (and others) will figure it out some day.

The central question of the song is the question "Why are there so many songs about rainbows?". Visually a rainbow is a vision, an illusion, and has no trickery about it. The speaker has heard there is a connection there, and the speaker knows others believe the connection exists. The speaker doesn't think the interpretation he's heard makes sense, but he thinks he (and others) will figure it out some day.

A related phenomenon is the idea that morning stars are capable of granting wishes. Someone had to be the first to think of that idea, and that idea was spread around from person to person and generation to generation. The speaker observes that the concept of wishing upon morning stars has been productive, but the speaker does not understand why people go stargazing or what they get out of it.

However, the speaker does feel SOMETHING related to rainbows, and presumes others can feel that too. His best guess is it's magic but is not certain. One manifestation of this phenomenon is hearing voices in one's head in a semiawake state. The feeling is analogized to a song heard by sailors (maybe the temptation song of the siren). The speaker has felt this feeling a lot and feels it's an intrisic part of who he is, but he's only willing to say that someday we'll figure it out. The speaker separates himself from lovers and dreamers, indicating it's a categorization relevant to the question.

My answer is it is the psychological concept of apophenia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia). People make connections between rainbows/stars and other entities because of the natural human tendency to perceive meaningful connections between unrelated things. The emotion of wonder (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_(emotion)) is also an explanation, but I don't like that as a full explanation because not everyone has that level of emotional range. My interpretation is the lovers and the dreamers can feel wonder, but the speaker cannot. But I feel like everybody could feel apophenia if they try.

Last Sunday I was taking a walk along the lakefront in New Orleans, where guys display their classic cars, and there was a powder blue Chevy Van. "Chevy Van" right on the side! I haven't seen one of these in a long time, and this song instantly came to my mind. The guy who owned it looked to be in his 20s but when I sang the last lines of the chorus, he said he knew the song. It brought back those sweet days when a guy could sing a song like this and it put...

Last Sunday I was taking a walk along the lakefront in New Orleans, where guys display their classic cars, and there was a powder blue Chevy Van. "Chevy Van" right on the side! I haven't seen one of these in a long time, and this song instantly came to my mind. The guy who owned it looked to be in his 20s but when I sang the last lines of the chorus, he said he knew the song. It brought back those sweet days when a guy could sing a song like this and it put you in the mood to climb in back, everybody on board, guys and gals. Made me wish I was 40 years younger! I've had this sweet song in my head for days now....