I've always been intrigued by this song as the title appears to be an oxymoron. Goshawks are far from 'gay', being the most shy, bad tempered and difficult birds of prey to tame. They are renowned for needing daily 'manning' by the austringer and will 'bate' at the slightest opportunity. T E White's book, 'The Goshawk' is an excellent account of training a Goshawk (he fails to do so in the end).

Is the title an indication that this is a totally fanciful tale or that there is some other hidden meaning in the song? Anyone got any ideas?