Well I'm changin all my strings
I'm gonna write another travelin' song
About all the billion highways
And the cities at the break of dawn
Well, I guess the best that I can do now
Is pretend that I done nothing wrong
And a dream about a train that's gonna
Take me back where I belong
Well, now the ocean speaks and spits
And I can hear it from the interstate
And I'm screaming at my brother on a cell phone
He is far away
I'm saying nothing in the past or future
Ever will feel like today
Until we're parking in an alley
Just hopin' that our shit is safe
So I go back and forth forever
All my thoughts they come in pairs
Oh, I will, I won't, I do, I don't
I'm not surprised
But I never feel quite prepared
Now I'm hunched over a typewriter
I guess you'd call that paintin' in a cave
And there's a word I can't remember
And a feeling I cannot escape
And now my ashtray's overflowing
I'm still staring at a clean white page
Oh, and morning's at my window
And she is sending me to bed again
Well, I dreamed a dark on the horizon
I dreamed a desert where the dead lay down
I dreamed a prostituted child
Touching an old man in a fast food crowd
I dreamed a ship was sinking
There was people screaming all around
And I awoke to my alarm clock
It was a pop song, it was playin' loud
So I will find my fears and face them
I will cower like a dog
I will kick and scream
I will kneel and plead
I'll fight like hell, to hide that I'm givin' up
I'm gonna write another travelin' song
About all the billion highways
And the cities at the break of dawn
Well, I guess the best that I can do now
Is pretend that I done nothing wrong
And a dream about a train that's gonna
Take me back where I belong
Well, now the ocean speaks and spits
And I can hear it from the interstate
And I'm screaming at my brother on a cell phone
He is far away
I'm saying nothing in the past or future
Ever will feel like today
Until we're parking in an alley
Just hopin' that our shit is safe
So I go back and forth forever
All my thoughts they come in pairs
Oh, I will, I won't, I do, I don't
I'm not surprised
But I never feel quite prepared
Now I'm hunched over a typewriter
I guess you'd call that paintin' in a cave
And there's a word I can't remember
And a feeling I cannot escape
And now my ashtray's overflowing
I'm still staring at a clean white page
Oh, and morning's at my window
And she is sending me to bed again
Well, I dreamed a dark on the horizon
I dreamed a desert where the dead lay down
I dreamed a prostituted child
Touching an old man in a fast food crowd
I dreamed a ship was sinking
There was people screaming all around
And I awoke to my alarm clock
It was a pop song, it was playin' loud
So I will find my fears and face them
I will cower like a dog
I will kick and scream
I will kneel and plead
I'll fight like hell, to hide that I'm givin' up
Lyrics submitted by SavesTheNight, edited by thatsnice, sarahbelum
"Another Travelin' Song" as written by Conor Oberst
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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!
I guess you'd call that painting in a cave
And there's a word I can't remember
And a feeling I cannot escape
And now my ashtray's overflowing
I'm still staring at a clean white page
Oh, and morning's at my window
And she is sending me to bed again
If you are a songwriter, i dont understand how you could not love this song.
I just realized that he's saying:
------------------------------------------
My thoughts they come in pairs
I will, I won't. I DOUBT, I don't.
------------------------------------------
Which adds a whole new spin to the verse which up until now I had missed. I thought it was worth reporting. With the will/wont, of course it's the indecisiveness about a certain topic.. but it's vague.
The whole "I doubt, I don't" line as I interpret it to be much more specific, it seems to relate to his faith. One of the relatively rare references in his songs, particularly his personal struggles in believing or calling it all bullshit.
Reminds me of "If I sold my soul for a bag of gold to you, which one of us would be the fool"
Sorry this was so long.
Any thoughts?
Wow I can't believe you posted that in 2007 with no replies! ...until now!
I know of the whole "america cheapening everyone of all ages"
But does anyone think theres another meaning?
I always felt the lines "I dreamed a ship was sinking [. . .] it was a pop song and it was playing loud" is meant to separate Bright Eyes' music from what normally gets heard on the radio (or the media or whatever). Basically, he won't sing what people expect just to be on the top 40/Clear Channel/mass market radio stations.
"I will kick and scream
I will kneel and plead
I'll fight like hell, to hide that I'm giving up"