The Narrator questions John Joseph about town's response to which he smiles and says "Reality is only just a word" and repeats the story again as the song's chorus.
Cash Box said it is a "pretty tune" and that "Chapin’s ability to tell such an involved tale within a short pop song is unbeatable.."[2] For the album Legends of the Lost and Found, Chapin records an extended-live version of the song going more indepth about John Joseph's stories and Corey's revelation.
Chapin said the song was about "an old man with a dream and a young boy who buys it" in live version's introduction on Legends of the Lost and Found.
Many listeners believe Corey is an imaginary character that only exists in the mind of John Joseph and his stories, which is why he states that reality is only a word.
[citation needed] Chapin did however explain where the name came from was from a fan he stayed with on the road that fed him when he was a struggling artist.