Having just watched the Cowboy Bebop final episode again, it\'s hard to disconnect this song and it\'s meaning from that episode. But speaking in general terms, not directly related to the storyline or to Spike, I think this song is a metaphor for the progression of life and then on to death, and an afterlife. I see the song as four distinct parts: Appreciating your life and truly feeling alive, questioning your life and what it\'s about, progressing from being alive to realizing you are in the twilight of your life and near death, and then finally dying. Those four sections are outlined below: \n\nThe blueness of the sky is a metaphor for being fully alive and fully appreciating life, perhaps after a long time of not feeling alive at all (numbness perhaps, at past pains). And then, reflection: "Asked myself what it\'s all for..." - the author looking back on their life, wondering what was the meaning of it all, what was the meaning of those trials and pain, and not being able to answer that question and pondering that thought with an air of sadness. "Things have turned a deeper shade of blue..." Like the end of a clear, sunny day, the blue sky turns darker shades of blue as one enters twilight...the author is referring to the twilight of one\'s life. \n\nIn the third section, as death/darkness approaches there\'s a point where the author straddles both life and death. "Wanna be free...and move among the stars; You know they really aren\'t so far..." - it\'s as if the author is seeing glimpses of the afterlife, and can see that the stars, and everything around them, is connected and not so far away as they seem. It\'s a beautiful realization that they yearn for. And yet, they are conflicted - "Don\'t wake me from the dream, It\'s really everything it seemed" - the "dream" is life, their life, and it really was as wonderful as they thought - they appreciate it all now, at the end.\n\nAnd finally, the fourth section - death. "Everything is clearer now, Life is just a dream, you know; that\'s never ending; I\'m ascending." In death, clarity and appreciation, and a realization that the journey continues on.\n\nIn short, I feel this song is about a transformation from life to death. It captures the realization that one has as they reflect on their life - they realize the beauty of if all - and then they reach a sense of wonder and peace about the journey towards the afterlife. "Life is a dream" because it\'s wonderous, amazing, and something that, in the end, we all "wake up" from.
Having just watched the Cowboy Bebop final episode again, it\'s hard to disconnect this song and it\'s meaning from that episode. But speaking in general terms, not directly related to the storyline or to Spike, I think this song is a metaphor for the progression of life and then on to death, and an afterlife. I see the song as four distinct parts: Appreciating your life and truly feeling alive, questioning your life and what it\'s about, progressing from being alive to realizing you are in the twilight of your life and near death, and then finally dying. Those four sections are outlined below: \n\nThe blueness of the sky is a metaphor for being fully alive and fully appreciating life, perhaps after a long time of not feeling alive at all (numbness perhaps, at past pains). And then, reflection: "Asked myself what it\'s all for..." - the author looking back on their life, wondering what was the meaning of it all, what was the meaning of those trials and pain, and not being able to answer that question and pondering that thought with an air of sadness. "Things have turned a deeper shade of blue..." Like the end of a clear, sunny day, the blue sky turns darker shades of blue as one enters twilight...the author is referring to the twilight of one\'s life. \n\nIn the third section, as death/darkness approaches there\'s a point where the author straddles both life and death. "Wanna be free...and move among the stars; You know they really aren\'t so far..." - it\'s as if the author is seeing glimpses of the afterlife, and can see that the stars, and everything around them, is connected and not so far away as they seem. It\'s a beautiful realization that they yearn for. And yet, they are conflicted - "Don\'t wake me from the dream, It\'s really everything it seemed" - the "dream" is life, their life, and it really was as wonderful as they thought - they appreciate it all now, at the end.\n\nAnd finally, the fourth section - death. "Everything is clearer now, Life is just a dream, you know; that\'s never ending; I\'m ascending." In death, clarity and appreciation, and a realization that the journey continues on.\n\nIn short, I feel this song is about a transformation from life to death. It captures the realization that one has as they reflect on their life - they realize the beauty of if all - and then they reach a sense of wonder and peace about the journey towards the afterlife. "Life is a dream" because it\'s wonderous, amazing, and something that, in the end, we all "wake up" from.