I recently listened to Out of the Shadows and realized something about "Helpless." A few years ago I discovered that some of the lyrics quote Elvis' "All Shook Up," and at the time I was just excited that I'd found such an obvious Elvis reference in a Rod Argent song. When I listened to it recently though, I realized the significance of that quotation.
The premise of the song is that the singer/speaker is unable to communicate with someone: "I just want to communicate / I try so hard but my tongue frustrates." The content of the Elvis quote fits the context of the song (the speaker/singer is "shaking" and "Can't seem to stand on [his] own two feet" because he can't communicate and therefore sees himself as "helpless"), but the fact that it's a quote also fits the song. The singer/speaker is having trouble "get[ting] through to you," so - with that Elvis quote - he's trying to use someone else's words rather than his own, hoping that perhaps that will allow him to "get through to you."
