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I was flying into Chicago at night
Watching the lake turn the sky into blue-green smoke
The sun was setting to the left of the plane
And the cabin was filled with an unearthly glow
In 27-D, I was behind the wing
Watching landscape roll out like credits on a screen
The earth looked like it was lit from within
Like a poorly assembled electrical ball
As we moved out of the farmlands into the grid
The plan of a city was all that you saw
And all of these people sitting totally still
As the ground raced beneath them, thirty-thousand feet down
It took an hour, maybe a day
But once I really listened the noise just fell away
And I was pretending that I was in a Galaxie 500 video
The stewardess came back and checked on my drink
In the last strings of sunlight, a Brigitte Bardot
As I had on my headphones
Along with those eyes that you get
When your circumstance is movie-size
It took an hour, maybe a day
But once I really listened the noise just fell away
It took an hour, maybe a day
But once I really listened the noise just fell away
But once I really listened the noise just fell away
Watching the lake turn the sky into blue-green smoke
The sun was setting to the left of the plane
And the cabin was filled with an unearthly glow
In 27-D, I was behind the wing
Watching landscape roll out like credits on a screen
The earth looked like it was lit from within
Like a poorly assembled electrical ball
As we moved out of the farmlands into the grid
The plan of a city was all that you saw
And all of these people sitting totally still
As the ground raced beneath them, thirty-thousand feet down
It took an hour, maybe a day
But once I really listened the noise just fell away
And I was pretending that I was in a Galaxie 500 video
The stewardess came back and checked on my drink
In the last strings of sunlight, a Brigitte Bardot
As I had on my headphones
Along with those eyes that you get
When your circumstance is movie-size
It took an hour, maybe a day
But once I really listened the noise just fell away
It took an hour, maybe a day
But once I really listened the noise just fell away
But once I really listened the noise just fell away
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So does it have any meaning other than as a well-done image of what she experienced approaching Chicago by airplane? I assume that the Stratford-On part is a reference to William Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon, and Phair is comparing herself to Shakespeare (how's that for an expression of self-confidence?). I assume the Guy part is her referring to Chicago (or its music scene) as Guyville. I agree that it's a good song, sure. But is there a deeper level or meaning that I'm missing?