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WEBMISTRESS speculates:
OK, this is gonna be a hard one, but I'll take my best guess. I believe "Cecelia" is an alter ego of Stevie's like in Sisters of the Moon. (In fact, I have a live bootleg of Sisters of the Moon from 1979 where Stevie, at the end, sings "Where have the white birds flown - have they flown so very far? No, they're just asleep - herein.") Also, in this song, she is wearing a "long red cape", like the capes in Nightbird. And she has all the dream references, like in so many songs, most obviously Dreams, of course. The birds reference recalls not only the demo Three Birds of Rhiannon, but the phrasing is also similar to the first two lines of Violet and Blue. So, after all that, I think that Stevie is just saying that she has to suffer to get what she wants, be it love or fame, and sometimes she feels guilty about it, but she can't live without at least trying to chase her dreams.
BPRYDERI speculates:
I agree that this song could almost be a companion piece to Sisters of the Moon, and I think that Stevie took that dark part of herself, wrapped in capes, that walks alone etc. and had to channel it into her music. I also wonder (refering back to the demo in which Stevie ad-libs part of Cecilia in SotM) if when Stevie says "And the people gather around her/Why are they so cruel?" is an example of the harsh press and rumors surrounding her and the band in regards to all of the break ups and not to mention the rumors about Stevie's dark persona. Perhaps she is trying to incorporate all of the negativity into a cohesive release in these songs, so as to clear away the emotions to make room for more musical growth.