At the best of times.

I don't mean to turn this into a verse blog, but this song has been stuck in my head all day. It's quite a wonderful song. Is it a positive or a negative song? I believe it's neither. It's off Music for a New Society, the great out-of-print album.

Thoughtless Kind by John Cale

When we grow tired of the friends we make --
In case we mean to say something else --
Say they were the best of times we ever had:
The best of times were the thoughtless kind.

We dress conservatively at the best of times;
Prefer the shadows to the bright lights in the eyes
Of the ones you love,
The bright lights in the eyes of the ones you love.
What we see, what we imagine, the eyes tell us nothing.
The bright lights in the eyes of the one we love will tell us nothing
Like the scars of imagination, the scars of imagination.
The bright lights in the eyes of the ones we love will tell us nothing
Except that we're the thoughtless kind.

So if you grow tired of the friends you make --
Never ever turn your back on them.
Say they were the best of times you ever had:
The best of times were the thoughtless kind.