There are no songs in the traditional sense on Harlequin, rather each side of the original LP is a lengthy spoken monologue over musical accompaniment.

It is a concept album in which Coe repeatedly uses the phrase "Asphalt Jungle" to describe the life he grew up in.

Reoccurring themes include hard tales of life, love, relationships, the Civil Rights Movement, 60's Counter Culture ideology, and modern society.

The record is entirely spoken word (self described by Coe in recent years as "The first rap album") with backing music encompassing a wide variety of genres including rock and roll, blues, folk, and gospel.

Phoenix New Times called Requiem for a Harlequin a "politically charged psychedelic concept album [...] a stylistic aberration [that] presaged Coe's fondness for the outré and counter-establishment.