Lorelei

Lorelei
Written by Dennis DeYoung and James Young
Lead vocals by Dennis DeYoung

When I think of Lorelei my head turns all around
As gentle as a butterfly she moves without a sound
I call her on the telephone, she says be there by eight
Tonight's the night she's moving in and I can hardly wait

The way she moves, ooh-ooh
I gotta say
Lorelei let's live together
Brighter than the stars forever
Lorelei let's live together
Brighter than the stars forever

Her eyes become of Paradise, she softly speaks my name
She brightens every lonely night, no one's quite the same
She calls me on the telephone, she says be there by eight
Tonight's the night she's moving in, it's time to celebrate

The way she moves, ooh-ooh
I gotta say
Lorelei let's live together
Brighter than the stars forever
Lorelei let's live together
Brighter than the stars forever

Interpretation 

The name Lorelei originated as the name of a large, steep rock in the River Rhine in Germany. The water rushing past the rock makes a murmuring sound that inspired various tales, including that of a beautiful siren distracting men on ships with her beauty and song, causing them to crash into the rock.

In this song, the name is associated with a beautiful woman who similarly entices men with her beauty and grace. Her lover is excited when she calls to have him pick her up. She's moving in with him, and he's elated with the thought of being with her forever.

JY has said that he had his wife, Susie, on mind when writing this song.

From a 2024 interview 2024 with Songfacts.com:

 JY: "Lorelei" was really about the woman that became my wife [Susan Young]. The idea of co-habitation was still looked down upon in the old-fashioned world that I was born into. My parents weren't happy about it, but they adapted. We moved in together and my better half decided we should make it legal, so we went to city hall and got married. That's a pretty standard notion for a rock song: A man writing about a woman that he's in love with.