The Grand Illusion

"The Grand Illusion" is a song written by Dennis DeYoung that was released as the title track of Styx's 1977 album The Grand Illusion. Not only is it the title track, but it provides the theme of the entire album. Although not released as a commercial single, it received significant radio airplay. Lyrics and music The theme "Grand Illusion", as well as the Grand Illusion album, is that things aren't always what they appear to be and it is a "grand illusion" that success will make you happy, and failure will make you miserable. The song's theme also reflects on the pressures of being a media star. The band found that once they became successful, it did not make them any happier. The theme is set up by lyrics such as "Don't be fooled by the radio/the TV or the magazines/They'll show you photographs of how your life should be/But they're just someone else's fantasy...Just remember that it's all a Grand Illusion/And deep inside we're all the same." DeYoung said of the song's theme that: Styx guitarist James Young said of the theme that "You expect that you yourself are going to change as a person, when in fact everything around you changes. The physical things you have to deal with change, but your own emotions, your own emotional makeup, are still there."