So long ago, I don't remember when
That's when they say I lost my only friend
Well, they said she died easy of a broken heart disease
As I listened through the cemetery trees

I seen the sun comin' up at the funeral at dawn
Of long broken arm of human law
Now it always seemed such a waste, she always had a pretty face
I wondered why she hung around this place

Hey, come on try a little
Nothing is forever
There's got to be something better than
In the middle
But me and Cinderella
We put it all together
We can drive it home
With one headlight

She said, "It's cold
It feels like Independence Day
And I can't break away from this parade"
But there's got to be an opening
Somewhere here in front of me
Through this maze of ugliness and greed

And I seen the sun up ahead at the county line bridge
Sayin' all is good and nothingness is dead
We'll run until she's out of breath
She ran until there's nothin' left
She hit the end, it's just her window ledge

Hey, come on try a little
Nothing is forever
There's got to be something better than
In the middle
But me and Cinderella
We put it all together
We can drive it home
With one headlight

Well, this place is old
It feels just like a beat up truck
I turn the engine, but the engine doesn't turn
Well, it smells of cheap wine, cigarettes
This place is always such a mess
Sometimes, I think I'd like to watch it burn
But I sit alone and I feel just like somebody else
Man, I ain't changed, but I know I ain't the same
But somewhere here in between the city walls of dyin' dreams
I think of death, it must be killin' me

Hey, hey, hey, hey
Come on try a little
Nothing is forever
There's got to be something better than
In the middle
But me and Cinderella
We put it all together
We can drive it home
With one headlight


Lyrics submitted by kevin, edited by windandwater313, notalexb

One Headlight Lyrics as written by Jakob Dylan

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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One Headlight song meanings
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  • +3
    My Interpretation

    To me this song has a deep seeding in how we overcome the trials and tribulations that life throws at us, even through the loss of something important. Carrying on.

    Beginning with the all to real notion of displaced amnesia, in a sense. "So long ago, I don't remember when" - may not have been very long at all. It's just the inability for one to face what is happening to them that causes a disconnection to their own reality (who they are) - The car, referenced in these lyrics - is their life after the loss of something important to their heart. Whether that be inoncence, a loved one, or even an oppurtunity to take a specific path. The lyrics do keep this interpretation open. I for one, keep solid to the love story inside.

    As the chorus rolls in, it feels like this individual is stuck, unable to move after the loss and is trying to motivate himself to get up and do something with his life, "Come on, Try a little" - to get up and find who he was, what he lost. "But me and Cinderella" - they could put it all together, and no matter how damaged or held back this person is, they could easily drive it home with "one headlight" - if only he could get back what he lost, or never lost it in the first place, nothing in life would be able to hold him back.

    Loss doesn't have to mean forever either. Some things in life are worth fighting for and I think the ending of this song includes this interpretation. As the second verse continues the description of the world he has to face alone - dark and full of greed, hate and despare. He is desperately looking for an opening, or a path to take to bring him back to life. Whether that be closure, or finding what he lost. He mentions later that "Man, I Ain't changed, but I know I Ain't the same" as if he realizes who he was, but still can't be that person without his heart. And even thinks about suicide as an option to escape this madness.

    Lastly he plays the chorus again, trying to motivate himself to get up and fight. Ending with the memory of how things were, meaning he is trying to find the strength to fight by remembering what he is fighting for. I like how one reviewer put it

    "Now she's gone but he resolves to carry on, to fight through to the end, even though this light in his life has gone out. What strikes me is his use of "we" as in "we can drive it home". She's gone, but he's still going to make it through for her." - Moral. Never stop fighting.

    Robert_Vanleeuwenon September 29, 2016   Link

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