| Tom Petty – Swingin' Lyrics | 17 minutes ago |
| I think the song is about a young woman who has been through tough times and was hitchhiking to escape whatever bad situation she was leaving. She gets picked up by an older guy in a Cadillac who sees a vulnerable young woman and decides to take advantage of her. She’s not going down without a fight, and ends up either killing the guy, or injures him to the point where she can get away. She calls her mother-in-law to help her out, knowing she will come rescue her because they’ve already been in trouble together in Vegas. Were they both in abusive marriages? Did they both get away from their abusers? That would mean her ex, the MIL’s son was a bad dude, as was his father. To me, the shoutouts to the bandleaders and Sammy Davis are just Tom’s homage to musicians who were swinging cats. The reference to Sonny Liston is telling. Famously beaten by Cassius Clay in Miami in 1964, but continued boxing (swinging) until his death in 1970. I suspect a similar fate for the girl in the song. | |
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