That is the meaning of the song White Room by Eric Clapton and Cream?

Answer 1

It is a song written about the British subway system, period. No euphemisms, no phallic symbols, no obscure references. Listen to the lyrics and think about the life underground where huge, metal, diesel trains soar through dark tunnels.

Then put yourself in a station, watching one train stop, take on passengers, let some off and move on. Perhaps you could witness someone meeting someone there or having to leave someone behind, as the windows on the train car go by and disappear. The Glasgow subway system, which ran throughout the UK, were distinctively yellow train cars (like school bus yellow) and occasionally they would wait in dark tunnels to be departed. In the late 50's and early sixties, the subway made a new transition; it no longer used cables attached to lines that were positioned above the train car, as in the trolley car. The reference to, "You said no strings could secure you, at the station..." indicates this.

The song "White Room" was never intended to be a hit. But isn't that usually the case when a song makes it big? It was originally a "filler song" to lengthen the album. Written by bassist, Jack Bruce and poet, Pete Brown, it was inspired by Bruce's interpretation of his new "flat" in the city of London, where the subway was a major hub for transportation. The song was meant to confuse, create ambivalence and was left up to interpretation. Like "Tales of Brave Ulysses," which was released on the album, Disraeli Gears, the lyrics are specific to one topic, in this case the story of Ulysses as told by Homer's epic poem. Nothing more, nothing less, but personal interpretation has led to "Tales of Brave Ulysses" being about sex, drugs and basically all the things White Room has been attributed to.

It's nice to think a song is about something you interpret it as: that's the point. But somewhere the writer of the song had some sort of basis. Some are designed for ambivalence and others are a story told as the artist intended. Perhaps White Room was a little of both. There is no right or wrong answer to the interpretation of White Room but the subway system of the UK is where its roots stem from.