Bright Eyes – Another Travelin' Song

"Another Travelin' Song" as written by and Oberst....
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


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

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Another Travelin' Song song meanings
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51 Comments

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  • +1
    General CommentI first thought he was saying "an old man in a fast food crown," which made me think of Burger King. Unless he was thinking of some particular image, the line can be taken as a general picture of how corporate America cheapens people of all ages.
    davinon October 23, 2006   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • +1
    General CommentNow I'm hunched over a typewriter
    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.
    SnwBorder52on November 10, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Commenti think this song is sarcastic almost. like it sounds very happy and catchy. but when you listen its a really negative song. like it makes it sound like he is singing about everything great about traveling, but he actually observes everything that is wrong with the country, himself included.
    DerekBon December 03, 2006   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • +1
    General CommentSnwBorder52, I completely agree on that verse, I never listened hard to that song until one day those lines caught me and I loved it. As to the "prostituted child touching an old man in a fast food crown" line, I have one thought that just popped into my head now, I never thought about it too much before. Since the song is about the fabric of America, I think "an old man in a fast food crown" could represent the corporate power structure, and "a prostituted child" is the innocence of the American people being raped by it.
    peacelovenconoron December 23, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General CommentI've always thought this song is about Writers Block. Maybe I didn't care to analyze it. (Yet.)
    Mr. Crowleyon January 10, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General CommentI've heard this song dozens of times.
    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?
    forgetmynameon February 20, 2007   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • +1
    General Commentwhat on earth does he mean by "prostituted child touching...etc"
    I know of the whole "america cheapening everyone of all ages"
    But does anyone think theres another meaning?
    bmth_ownon February 24, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Commentthis song is that feeling you get when too many things are going on at once and you dont know how you are going to get everything to work out in the end
    leavingon March 08, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General CommentI think the line about the "prostituted child touching an old man" is a veiled put-down of teenage girls usually dating older men and trying to be something they're not. I suspect Conor was standing in a line to order and saw this and it stuck with him. I could be wrong however.

    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.
    GuyinGAon April 29, 2008   Link
    • 2 Replies
  • +1
    General CommentThis is my all time favorite Bright Eyes song due to the fantastic line at the end.
    "I will kick and scream
    I will kneel and plead
    I'll fight like hell, to hide that I'm giving up"
    MusicMusicMusic94on June 27, 2008   Link
    • 1 Reply

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