Well, I've got to run to keep from hiding
And I'm bound to keep on riding
And I've got one more silver dollar
But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no
Not gonnna let 'em catch the midnight rider

And I don't own the clothes I'm wearing
And the road goes on forever
And I've got one more silver dollar
But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider

And I've gone by the point of caring
Some old bed I'll soon be sharing
And I've got one more silver dollar

But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider
No, I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider
No, I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no
I'm not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider
No, I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no
I'm not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider


Lyrics submitted by shut

Midnight Rider Lyrics as written by Gregg Allman Robert Kim Payne

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Midnight Rider song meanings
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28 Comments

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  • +5
    General Comment

    The lyrics wreak of desperation, save for the recurring reference to that last silver dollar. Surely a dollar isn't enough to sustain a human body. It seems more like something that sustains a desperate soul. Maybe hope? Maybe a phrase overheard in a casino (false hope). Whatever that silver dollar represents, it seems to define the ability to muster the will to survive with even the smallest chance. Most likely a tune more appreciated by non-conformists. So very well-received when it was released in 1970.

    JBeaston October 09, 2007   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    They performed this song (obviously) at the last show I went to, and Gregg was amazing. You almost get lost in his emotion, like a hitchhiker walking the country road at night, with nowhere to go, but nowhere to stay. Truly amazing.

    the deadest roseon July 22, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I played this tune for my buddy when he was truly "on the lamb", and it made his spirits rise. Dude had a buck and a ride. He wasn't a violent felon, just an unlucky drug doer. The Midnight Rider slips on by into the night.

    Jordo013on September 16, 2009   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    i think that it's an outlaw biker talking about their current circumstances. though obviously the author draws from their experience as a touring musician, song writers (particularly rock musicians from a relative time period) often exaggerate their experiences to come up with material that reflects in part things they might be romancing about and/or often the artist doesn't feel their particular story (verbatim) is anything worth writing into a song.

    cansongon March 16, 2013   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    It's about a lonely man on the road, walking a fine line between lawlessness and divinity.

    Forty3Hodownon December 30, 2004   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This could quite possibly be the greatest song ever.

    it uses traditional folk and blues themes of desperation, determination, and a man on the run: I've got one more silver dollar, But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no ... Not gonna let 'em catch The midnight rider.

    shanshanshabangon August 18, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i had to comment on this alman bros. classic, this song on filmore east does something to me. lets just say the raw sound of the duane on guitar just really sets taht lonely feel which is what this song is about. latenight driving on a lonely highway

    jbird4017on April 08, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    As Cadillac4life said it is wonderful for nighttime drives when your headed down south with no one on road and just the warm nighttime breeze rushing by. great song, the silver dollar seems like it is his one thing left that he will not give up. he talks about sharing a bed and what not so that must cost money. He obviously will not give the silver dollar away so it must represent something less tangible than money. Maybe your beliefs or heart or soul. maybe it symbolizes something different to everyone

    plzon November 14, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think this is about a musician on the road. He is saying that he has to keep moving and drinking and/or taking drugs to keep going and face his troubles. He is wearing borrowed clothes to perform his act in and he can't see the end of touring. He is going to spend his last dollar on having a good time so he can keep his spirits up and people won't see him feeling down. He is so tired of his lifestyle that he is jaded and indifferent to people and events and he will sleep with whomever comes along.

    Joeselfon March 01, 2012   Link
  • +1
    My Opinion

    It's actually about a Revolutionary Era Rebel in New England who was nick named The Midnight Rider after being the only one of a group of three to make it passed British Soldiers. There is a path named for him. Prescott Path.

    Rking24on June 27, 2016   Link

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