Kansas - Carry On
Kansas - Carry On
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB17uWuBrL0

Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond the illusion
I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high
Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man
Though my mind could thnk I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I'm dreamin', I can hear them say

CHORUS
Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Now don't you cry no more

Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know
On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune, but I hear the voices say

CHORUS

Carry on, you will always remember
Carry on, nothing equals the splendor
Now your life's no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you

1. What does "Carry on" mean? Does it mean "to keep on doing something"?
Carry on my wayward son = Do not give up my wayward son?

2. "For there'll be peace when you are done". What does "when you are done" mean?
As far as I understand, that means "There will be peace when you die"?

3. "Masquerading as a man with a reason". Does it mean "I am pretending a man that have a reason to do something"?

4. "My charade is the event of the season". What does "Event of the season mean"? It might be summer, winter, spring and autumn?

5. What does "And if I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know" mean?

6. Does "Moving emotion" mean "exciting emotion"?

7. So, what is second verse about? :)

Question

Kansas - Carry On
Kansas - Carry On
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB17uWuBrL0

Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond the illusion
I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high
Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man
Though my mind could thnk I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I'm dreamin', I can hear them say

CHORUS
Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Now don't you cry no more

Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know
On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune, but I hear the voices say

CHORUS

Carry on, you will always remember
Carry on, nothing equals the splendor
Now your life's no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you


1. What does "Carry on" mean? Does it mean "to keep on doing something"? 
Carry on my wayward son = Do not give up my wayward son?

2. "For there'll be peace when you are done". What does "when you are done" mean?
As far as I understand, that means "There will be peace when you die"? 

3. "Masquerading as a man with a reason". Does it mean "I am pretending a man that have a reason to do something"?

4. "My charade is the event of the season". What does "Event of the season mean"? It might be summer, winter, spring and autumn?

5. What does "And if I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know" mean?

6. Does "Moving emotion" mean "exciting emotion"?

7. So, what is second verse about? :)

Answer

Hello Andrew,

A bit tricky... I agree with your interpretation for 1 and 3.

2, I feel, more than likely means, as you say, "when you die", instead of the weaker reading of "when you have finished".

In 4, it is not important which season you are talking about (just like when someone talks about the new football season starting, you don't ask if they mean spring, summer, autumn or winter), "the event of the season" means something like "the high point of the current time period" (if that makes any sense!!).

5 could be paraphrased rather freely as, "if I tell you that I am wise, don't believe me, because I would only say that if I didn't know."

For 6, "moving" means both "affecting the emotions" - for example, in "he made a very moving speech" - and "in motion".  I think that the text is playing on both meanings of the word, i.e. a sea of emotions that are both in motion (like the waves) and which affect the speaker in the text.

As for 7, well, my understanding of the second verse is this: "I pretend to have a reason for what I do, but it's all a big lie, and don't believe me if I tell you otherwise because I go wherever my emotions carry me, seeing wherever chance will take me."

I hope this has at least been of some help for you!

Alvin