Well, she followed him from Phoenix out to California
And then she passed out on the bed
And all the little things he never even asked her for
She simply smiled and shook her head
Why can't we smile just like we used to?
Why don't you figure anymore?
Why has my sympathy now turned to malice?
It doesn't matter anymore
And now I realize I'm livin' like a trucker does
Although I haven't got the belly
And though she followed me to California all the way
I only wanna watch the telly
Why can't we smile just like we used to?
Why don't you figure anymore?
Why has my sympathy now turned to malice?
It doesn't matter anymore
He asked her please stop quotin' Rod McKuen in your postcards, can't understand it anymore
And if your gonna read your poetry aloud to me
I'll have to show you to the door
Why can't we smile just like we used to?
Why don't you figure anymore?
Why has my sympathy now turned to malice?
It doesn't matter anymore


Lyrics submitted by mrtrout, edited by jfire7887

California (All the Way) song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

5 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +5
    General Comment

    While reading through Nathaniel West's 1939 novel "The Day of the Locust," I came across the following line: "He wondered why all his sympathy had turned to malice." When i read it, it resonated with a musical lilt. Immediately I knew that I had heard this very same sentence in a song before. I stopped reading and hummed the sentence in my head, trying to recall the tune it belonged to. I knew it was a band i liked and whose CD i owned, but it wasn't until I googled the keywords "lyrics," "sympathy," and "malice" that I learned it was this Luna song. I first heard this song 7 years ago, after buying a used copy of "Bewitched" (Luna's best album, alongside "Chinatown") for 6.95 at a Blockbuster music. I purchased the album because I recognized the band from an Uncut Magazine compilation CD where their song "Super Freaky Memories," in a small way, blew my mind. I am a southern Californian, Nathaniel West's novel takes place in Hollywood and this song is, to this day, one of my all time favorite Luna songs. Both the book and the album were purchased second-hand and I think I have hit on an interesting connection between the two, although aside from this linguistic similarity the song and the novel have little in common. And, in case you're wondering, the novel is excellent. It is considered the premiere novel about Hollywood, specifically pre-WWII Hollywood, and I strongly recommend it to anyone who likes to read fiction.

    mgnfcntbstrdon February 07, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Why has my sympathy now turned to malice? This song reminds me of a girl I was hanging around with so I wouldn't be lonely. Eventually she drove me nuts and I decided it was preferable to be lonely.

    Milkman82on August 22, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song actually is pretty sad.. the melody and the lyrics.... really great

    v2.7on August 23, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    So, Dean Wareham actually talks about this song in the docmentary. It's about a chick who was really into Sean Eden and she would follow him from show to show. "Well, she followed him from phoenix out to California" that's about Sean and this chick.

    bennyB3000on September 09, 2017   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "He asked her please stop quoting Rod McKuen in your postcards..."

    Rod McKuen wrote a bunch of songs and translated the songs of Jacques Brel, but he is probably most well-known for his schlocky books of romance poetry, very popular (especially with women) in the 1970s.

    sharkycharmingon February 19, 2014   Link

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

Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
Gentle Hour
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,
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.