No I'd rather go and journey
Where the diamond crescent's glowing
And run across the valley
Beneath the sacred mountain
And wander through the forest
Where the trees have leaves of prisms
And break the light in colors
That no one know the names of

And when it's time I'll go and lay
Beside the legendary fountain
'Till I see her form reflected
In its clear and jewelled waters
And if you think I'm ready
You may lead me to the chasm
Where the rivers of our visions
Flow into one another

I will want to dive beneath the white cascading waters
She may beg, she may plead, she may argue with her logic
And mention all the things I'll lose
That really have no value in the end she will surely know
I wasn't born to follow


Lyrics submitted by vee

Wasn't Born To Follow Lyrics as written by Gerry Goffin Carole King

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Wasn't Born to Follow song meanings
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7 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    Good song by the byrds. It's really a little anthem of country and talking about traveling from place to place.

    It's also(as said from above) from the 1969 film, "Easy Rider" soundtrack. It fit perfectly in the film.

    Pink_Floyd_fanon April 26, 2007   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    This is my int. line by line:

    *No I'd rather go and journey

    -Not going the way the status quo is of growing up believing in certain things taught -to us as children - to create your our path. (aka religion/history/etc)

    *Where the diamond crescent's glowing

    -An introduction into LSD/Psycoactive approach to a waypoint of further knowledge - Like a spiral to a vortex.

    *And run across the valley

    -Valley is a metaphore of existence or the universe.

    *Beneath the sacred mountain

    -Gate to Heaven/Enlightenment.

    *And wander through the forest

    -When entering the gate to Heaven/Enlightenment.

    *Where the trees have leaves of prisms

    -Reference to LSD (aka visuals/feeling very good). Everything is as beautiful as it feels and what you can see.

    *And break the light in colors

    -See above ^^

    *That no one know the names of

    -Still referencing above, but, on LSD sometimes you meet "colors" or other "manifestations" that seem alive and real at the time. Or maybe they have never been named or are nameless.

    *And when it's time I'll go and lay

    -This can either mean to be sustained in enlightenment or possible death of the physical form.

    *Beside the legendary fountain

    -The Birthplace of existence/Heaven/Enlightenment/God

    *'Till I see her form reflected

    -Earth/Heaven/Enlightenment/God

    *In its clear and jewelled waters

    -The infinity of Heaven/Enlightenment/God

    *And if you think I'm ready

    -To move to a higher state of being

    *You may lead me to the chasm

    -Infinity

    *Where the rivers of our visions

    -Knowning we are connected through the same concept (everything said above)

    *Flow into one another

    -We are all connected by soul and energy

    *I will want to dive beneath the white cascading waters

    -Shout out to Earth as a Mother.

    *She may beg, she may plead, she may argue with her logic

    -Earth is an all caring mother.

    *And mention all the things I'll lose

    -Selflessness before others.

    That really have no value in the end she will surely know I wasn't born to follow

    -You're here for love - not here for greed or self importance before others.

    Spiralnomadon August 11, 2016   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    good ole nature loving song, Its on easy rider movie with dennis fucking hopper good hippy jam

    necrophageon July 30, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is all about getting out on the open road and just traveling. The only bad thing about this song is that it's too short! "Easy Rider" is a great movie, and this song fits it perfectly.

    sgtpepper4077on November 30, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is one of the best road songs, with or without the Easy Rider context. It's about not being able to stay in one place or with one woman indefinitely.

    All the versions I've heard (about 2 minutes long) lack the lyrics from "And I'll stay awhile... (to) ...as I stand in that cathedral," and instead have a distorted guitar bridge in that section.

    Nick_Con June 08, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    It's about not losing your wonder and not bending to convention no matter how tempting it might be.Basically, don't lose yourself to false security.

    eyehopon March 26, 2013   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    As I understand the lyrics, this song is about a man and a woman having sex, and how the man leaves her after they finish.

    And run across the valley Beneath the sacred mountain

    That'd be the mound of Venus

    And wander through the forest

    These four lines would refer to the pubic hairs

    And when it's time I'll go and lay Beside the legendary fountain

    Now she's wet with the excitement

    And if you think I'm ready You may lead me to the chasm Where the rivers of our visions Flow into one another

    They leave behind the preliminaries and get to business, the chasm being her vagina - "where the rivers of our visions flow into one another" - where he'll finish.

    And lose myself within it Cleanse my mind and body

    He cums.

    At the mist that they created

    Sweat

    Beneath the white cascading water

    His semen

    She may beg and she may plead And she may argue with her logic Mention all the things I'll lose That really have no value

    He told her he was leaving and she tries to convince him to stay, but he doesn't want a commitment, he doesn't care about her.

    Though I doubt that she will ever Come to understand my meaning

    That it was a one time thing.

    In the end she'll surely know I was not born to follow

    But with time she will realize that he's like that.

    mdrdon May 15, 2013   Link

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