Robert Plant was asked about that in an interview and he said those were the lyrics he most regretted. Said something to the effect he was really into The Hobbit at the time but it was fleeting and looking back he forced it into the song.
I think a lot of people must only know Supertramp for their popular songs and are not familiar with some of their incredible, but less "airplay" worthy work. Even in the Quietest Moments is a masterpiece. Crisis, what Crisis? and Crime of the Century are great too. True, they do have "a sound"...