im eager to hear your best shots. please no side commentary about the meanings of poetry and how it shouldnt be disected.
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Book Of Saturday

If I only could deceive you
Forgetting the game
Every time I try to leave you
You laugh just the same

’cause my wheels never touch the road
And the jumble of lies we told
Just returns to my back to weigh me down...

We lay cards upon the table
The backs of our hands
And I swear I like your people
The boys in the band

Reminiscences gone astray
Coming back to enjoy the fray
In a tangle of night and daylight sounds...

All completeness in the morning
Asleep on your side
I’ll be waking up the crewmen
Banana-boat ride

She responds like a limousine
Brought alive on the silent screen
To the shuddering breath of yesterday...

There’s the succour of the needy
Incredible scenes
I’ll believe you in the future
Your life and death dreams

As the cavalry of despair
Takes a stand in the lady’s hair
For the favour of making sweet sixteen...

You make my life and times
A book of bluesy saturdays
And I have to chose...

The poet, (probably, but not necessarily) a male, is torn over a decision to leave his girlfriend. In his angst he is driven to the utterance of poetry, but in his pain all that comes forth is a slew of mixed metaphors and meaningless (other than to the author) romantic symbology. As in most poetry, the first and last verses are critical, and fortunately in this instance the clearest and least cluttered.If he could decieve her/not play the game he could stay. He has tried to leave before but she hasn't taken him seriously.In the last verse he bemoans that life is like a series of depressing saturdays and reiterates that he must chose whether to stay or go. Some of the other lines and verse are just illustrative or expositive pieces. Eg. in the second verse, his wheels are spinnin' and he's burdened down with past untruths The third verse could be an appeal for honesty, using two mixed metaphors; and also saying he doesn't mind the people she hangs out with (this could have been one of the earlier unresolved issues) Verse 4 describes A restless night. He awakes still with her. Note the term "on your side"-could mean he's on her side literally or metaphorically or it could just be an observation that she sleeps on her side. The next bit gets tricky. Banana boat suggests a tramp steamer/ slow ride/ some exotic place. Yet in the next verse the symbology is more positive. He compares her to a luxury car sleek and responsive/easy to handle(lots of suggestive interpretations possible). This whole verse appears sexually suggestive but may just be a poetic observation of how she wakes up. The succour of the needy= breastfeeding her baby, looking after him or her children's needs. Or it could be that she needs succour. This fits with the second part of the verse where he is saying that for some reason he will take more notice of her worries and concerns in the future. The cavalry is used in an unusual sense(How can Despair come to the rescue.) Perhaps it is just another poetic reference to the lady's despair, which comes charging in as she tries to brush her long silky hair which has become tangled during the long restless night and steamy lovemaking of the morning. This penultimate verse makes a real hash of imagery, including a ladys favour and sweet sixteen, which indicate both, chivalry ,youth and romantic/idealised love. All these may be going through the poet's mind as he tries to decide whether to stay or go.
For a real twist, try thinking of the poet as another woman. Lastly, this is a fairly simple and straight-forward possible interpretation; look for other possibilities. For example he could be a sabbath keeper whose conscience is tearing at him as he is torn between going to the game on sabbath or taking his wife to church. Hope this helps you with your assignment. From a cynical, oldish, Australian English teacher.
Ignore cynical comment above. I see this was posted in the wrong section, and I must admit I had never scrolled down the page enough to see this very interesting area. Your post makes a lot more sense in this area. It had appeared to me as if one of the less than perfectly literate contributors to the "main" part of this forum was looking for a quick and easy analysis of the poem for some academic credit and had posted it in the hope of getting some free advice.

For some reason I think its about a Child's toys watching him or her grow up.

Moving to a more appropriate category

thanks for hte interpretations.

this isnt for anything academic by the way. personal interest. its a good song too. it rings through my head all day all the time.

O heck! i just googled king crimson and book of saturday, to see if i could find an interpretation of this. I had never heard of the group or song (blame my age). I must admit that while impressed with the group's history I stand by my first impression that this is not very good poetry. I'm not qualified to comment on song lyrics.
Having now read a few of the professional reviewers comments, however, it looks like i might not be far off track."Nice little song, simple ballad, boring, and, one of red crimson's more accessible songs", were typical comments.