To be perfectly honest I always liked the song much more than the A side. And it was always nice and a better value for money option than just banging a weaker album track on the B side.Fair play to the band.
I didnt really go for Cockney Rebel until the second band opened my eyes (ears).I was a Faces/Rod fan up to then but the Faces split in 74 and when I left school in 1976 the coolest kids at college were Rebel fans and I got hooked.
I've also always had leanings towards Dylan and I still believe Steve Harleys lyrics are some of the closest Ive ever heard to his.
Steph

What a terrific link. This is a clever song, full of early Harley Psychomodo, even though it came later. "No hope for my lovers, my enemies less" indeed. He really did write "poetry" like his friend Marc Bolan. No wonder they connected! Sometimes SH is hard to decifer, but I have always founbd, over 38 yars of struggling, that the effort is rewarded. It;s a like a cryptic crossword, really, very satisfying once you get a grip on his (potential) meaning. Potential, becasue who can really say? But this is a really terrific song and I agree with the suggestion that an album of B-sides and more obscure tracks would make a great collectors piece.

Im no intellectual, but I always thought SH was picking on hgimself, more than writing to another peron, and the bit where he screams So be gone from my life / disappear from my mirror might back this up, any thoughts anyone?

Thats the thing about good poetry, it sometimes means different things to different people.
To me the song is from the point of view of a guy who has reluctantly broken off a relationship because he couldnt be what she wanted without losing his own identity. He had to fight himself and he's bitter about it. Perhaps thats all too obvious. '.

It was once a favourite of mine too but I had forgotten all about it until 23/03/2023 when Steve and the acoustic band played it at Holborn Pizza Express.
I thought I might bump this thread to encourage comments. Surely it must have been the most moving song in this run of Pizza Express nights especially after the recent loss of lovely Kuma.

LAY ME DOWN (personal view):

A great MELODIOUS song. I challenge any fan’s adrenalin not to be stimulated. It should have been covered (maybe it has?) It should have been released as a single - other than as a B side - (earlier and/or later). At Cheltenham (19/12/22) Steve referred to Mr Soft in a certain context (only those present will know, others may guess). LAY ME DOWN is broader and a better candidate. Poetic lyrics. Perhaps partly autobiographical, perhaps not.

Classic chords, A, E, B, as well as F# and F#m (I believe the song is recorded in the key of E, but I am a non-musician, almost, so apologies to Steve, other fans, if I’m incorrect). Tempo (stated as a non-musician, lol): about 65% (i.e. 93/94 bpm) of that of (I believe) Love’s A Prima Donna – this , I believe, is c.144 bpm.
Stay your way,
Jem