This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Headed back down south
Gonna see my daddy's mistress
Gonna buy back her forgiveness
Pay off every witness
One more time down south
Sell the family headstones
Drag a bag of dry bones
Make good on my back loans
So if I come to your door
Let me sleep on your floor
I'll give you all I have
And a little more
Sleep late down south
Look up my former mentors
Live off Yankee winters
Be a landlord and a renter
Create myself down south
Impress all the women
Pretend I'm Samuel Clemens
Wear seersucker and white linens
So if I come to your door
Let me sleep on your floor
I'll give you all I have
And a little more
Spanish moss down south
Find the heroes of my childhood
Who now can do me no good
Carve their names in dogwood
Chase a ghost down south
Spirits cross the dead fields
Mosquitoes hit the windshield
All documents remain sealed
So if I come to your door
Let me sleep on your floor
I'll give you all I have
And a little more
I'll give you all I have
And a little more
Gonna see my daddy's mistress
Gonna buy back her forgiveness
Pay off every witness
One more time down south
Sell the family headstones
Drag a bag of dry bones
Make good on my back loans
So if I come to your door
Let me sleep on your floor
I'll give you all I have
And a little more
Sleep late down south
Look up my former mentors
Live off Yankee winters
Be a landlord and a renter
Create myself down south
Impress all the women
Pretend I'm Samuel Clemens
Wear seersucker and white linens
So if I come to your door
Let me sleep on your floor
I'll give you all I have
And a little more
Spanish moss down south
Find the heroes of my childhood
Who now can do me no good
Carve their names in dogwood
Chase a ghost down south
Spirits cross the dead fields
Mosquitoes hit the windshield
All documents remain sealed
So if I come to your door
Let me sleep on your floor
I'll give you all I have
And a little more
I'll give you all I have
And a little more
Lyrics submitted by HamiltonInches
Down South [(2018 Remaster)] Lyrics as written by Tom Petty
Lyrics © Adria K Music, O/B/O DistroKid
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Wow what a great tune for someone like me who lives "Down South!" One of my new all time favorite TP&HB songs.
The lyrics are the most fun he's written in a decade! "Gonna see my daddy's mistress, Gonna buy back her forgiveness."
TP & HBs getting better with age!
I agree Muddy :) I love this song!
It's a great song, except Muddy, it's not the heartbreakers. It's just Tom. It's a great song of returning to a distant part of your life though.
I don't know why it took me 6 years to buy this album, but I have most of the others and this one is classic Petty at its best.<br /> <br /> Love this song, but interesting references to dead things in this song:<br /> -Family headstones... bag of dry bones<br /> -Samuel Clemens (he's dead)... white linens<br /> -Chase a ghost... spirits across dead fields<br /> -Mosquitoes hit the windshield... documents remained sealed (finality)<br /> <br /> You dig into this song and there is some reminiscing, maybe some guilt and some clearing of the conscience. Definitely visits his home (spanish moss grows on big oak trees in that part of Florida) and his childhood.<br /> <br /> I'd like to pull this song apart some more.
A good friend just saw him in concert this past weekend. He said Petty was great! And another friend (a musician) used to date Petty's sister. My point? I haven't one:) I'm also not a Petty fan...