Golden Brown - The Stranglers

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As always, when speculating on the meaning of songs, people so easily conclude that 'it's about drugs' when they can't understand the lyric. Even if the writer of a particular song was in a certain mind-state when they wrote it, or reflecting on an experience, often the lyric creates a virtual world of its own, with it's own laws of nature.

The best "what does it mean" I found for this lyric came from a young lady who said "It's about the joys of toast!"!

Whatever it means to you, it's beautiful song with simple but evocative imagery that tells a kind of story. The story of Circe and Odysseus and the Sirens is evoked in the second verse with the lover tied to the mast -

Circe, daughter of the sun, was a sorceress best known for her ability to turn men into animals with her magic wand. The daughter of Perse and Helios, and whose daughter is Aega (goddess of the sun) she is remembered for her encounter with Odysseus and his men, and renowned for her knowledge of magic and poisonous herbs.

When Odysseus and his men landed in Aeaea, his crew later met with Circe and were turned into pigs. Circe's spells however had no effect on Odysseus who earlier was given an herb by Hermes to resist her power. Circe realizing she was powerless over him lifted the spell from the crew and welcomed them in her home. After about a year when Odysseus leaves she warns them of the sirens they will encounter on their journey. Circe and Odysseus also bore a child together named Telegonus who later ruled over the Tyrsenians.

Circe also has the powers for spiritual purification as she purifies the Argonauts for the murder of Apsyrtus.

Odysseus was curious as to what the Sirens sounded like, so he had all his sailors plug their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast. He ordered his men to leave him tied to the mast, no matter how much he would beg. When he heard their beautiful song, he ordered the sailors to untie him but they stuck to their orders (or they couldn't hear him). When they had passed out of earshot, Odysseus stopped thrashing about and calmed down, and was released (Odyssey XII, 39).