Who draws the crowd and plays so loud
Baby it's the guitar man
Who's gonna steal the show
You know, baby, it's the guitar man

He can make you love
He can make you cry
He will bring you down
Then he'll get you high
Somethin' keeps him goin'
Miles and miles a day
To find another place to play

Night after night who treats you right
Baby, it's the guitar man
Who's on the radio
You go listen to the guitar man

Then he comes to town
And you see his face
And you think you might
Like to take his place
Somethin' keeps him driftin'
Miles and miles away
Searchin' for the songs to play

Then you listen to the music
And you like to sing along
You want to get the meaning
Out of each and every song
Then you find yourself a message
And some words to call your own
And take them home

He can make you love
He can get you high
He will bring you down
Then he'll make you cry
Somethin' keeps him movin'
But no one seems to know
What it is that makes him go

Then the lights begin to flicker
And the sound is getting dim
The voice begins to falter
And the crowds are getting thin
But he never seems to notice
He's just got to find
Another place to play

Fade away
Got to play
Fade away
Got to play


Lyrics submitted by AliesterCrowleyFan

Guitar Man Lyrics as written by David Gates

Lyrics © DAVID GATES D/B/A KIPAHULU MUSIC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Guitar Man song meanings
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9 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment

    Beautiful. I'm surprised no has commented on it yet...

    king nothing2on September 15, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i love the bit when he talks about knowing what every line means in the songs. i love cake covers (check out i will surive it's really funny at first then it gets really good). does anyone who did the original of this?

    Sweetheart210on February 05, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Eh?

    nagromnaion April 26, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    is it just me, or does the chorus of 'The Real Thing' by Bo Bice sound similiar to 'The Guitar Man's'? anyway. brilliant song.

    chellybeanzon June 21, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Probably because that faggot stole the guitar chords for his own shitty advantage. I hate bands that do that shit especially when they suck to begin with. Makes me want to strangle a bitch! btw beautiful song by the legendary david gates/Bread!

    floydian18on July 09, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song makes me think of my dad. He loved Bread and we listened to it togetrher often. He would play the rythem gutair part from this song along with the album, lol. He was always playing and now I can listen to this song and smile just thinking about him...

    Skyedanceron August 24, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I just surprisingly listened again this song today, after several years since I was a little child when I listened to this beautiful song. To my amazement, this song still really is a very beautiful song, and personally, it means a lot to me!

    this song, to me, is clearly about the passion of a musician/singer/songwriter (here in this song termed as "Guitar Man"). a musician will have his/her own reasons to travel miles & miles away, to play the songs, just to be able to share something so abstract, yet so beautiful & eternal, which is the message, the meaning, and the emotions of the music. true/real musicians often have different motivations than most regular practical people in this world. and this song has clearly depicted it very beautifully. this is easily become onf of my favorite song, even in this so-called 'digital era' of 'noisy' music, this song still and i think will always stand out on it sown, at least to me personally, as a singer/songwriter myself.

    dinkoton May 29, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is about a man that lives on women's couches, stealing their medications and robbing them blind.

    Indie_Queenon March 23, 2015   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Sounds to me like a song about a srs c*t Player Man-whor Ew

    anintellectualon August 24, 2021   Link

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