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Almost Home Lyrics
He had plastic bags wrapped 'round his shoes.
He was covered with the Evening News.
Had a pair of old wool socks on his hands.
The bank sign was flashing "5 below",
It was freezing rain an' spittin' snow;
He was curled up behind some garbage cans.
I was afraid that he was dead:
I gave him a gentle shake.
When he opened up his eyes,
I said: "Old man, are you ok?"
He said: "I just climbed out of a cottonwood tree".
"I was runnin' from some honey bees".
"Drip dryin' in the summer breeze",
"After jumpin' into Calico Creek".
"I was walkin' down an old dirt road",
"Past a field of hay that had just been mowed".
"Man, I wish you'd just left me alone",
"'Cause I was almost home."
Then he said: "I w's just comin' 'round the barn,
"'Bout the time he grabbed my arm,
"When I heard Momma holler: 'Son, hurry up.'
"I was close enough for my own nose,
"To smell fresh cobbler on the stove,
"When I saw Daddy loadin' up the truck.
"Cane poles on the tailgate,
"Bobbers blowin' in the wind.
"Since July of '55,
"That's as close as I've been.
"Yeah, I just climbed out of a cottonwood tree".
"Well, I was runnin' from some honey bees".
"Drip dryin' in the summer breeze",
"After jumpin' into Calico Creek".
"An' I was walkin' down an old dirt road",
"Past a field of hay that had just been mowed".
"Man, I wish you'd just left me alone",
"I was almost home."
I said: "Old man you're gonna freeze to death,
"Let me drive you to the mission."
He said: "Boy, if you left me alone,
"Right now, I'd be fishin'."
"I just climbed out of a cottonwood tree".
"I was runnin' from some honey bees".
"An' drip dryin' in the summer breeze",
"After jumpin' in to Calico Creek".
"I was walkin' down an old dirt road,
"Past a field of hay that had just been mowed".
"Man, I wish you'd just left me alone",
"'Cause I was almost home." (Almost home).
"Man, I wish you'd just left me alone,
"I was almost home."
He was covered with the Evening News.
Had a pair of old wool socks on his hands.
The bank sign was flashing "5 below",
It was freezing rain an' spittin' snow;
He was curled up behind some garbage cans.
I was afraid that he was dead:
I gave him a gentle shake.
When he opened up his eyes,
I said: "Old man, are you ok?"
"I was runnin' from some honey bees".
"Drip dryin' in the summer breeze",
"After jumpin' into Calico Creek".
"I was walkin' down an old dirt road",
"Past a field of hay that had just been mowed".
"Man, I wish you'd just left me alone",
"'Cause I was almost home."
"'Bout the time he grabbed my arm,
"When I heard Momma holler: 'Son, hurry up.'
"I was close enough for my own nose,
"To smell fresh cobbler on the stove,
"When I saw Daddy loadin' up the truck.
"Cane poles on the tailgate,
"Bobbers blowin' in the wind.
"Since July of '55,
"That's as close as I've been.
"Well, I was runnin' from some honey bees".
"Drip dryin' in the summer breeze",
"After jumpin' into Calico Creek".
"An' I was walkin' down an old dirt road",
"Past a field of hay that had just been mowed".
"Man, I wish you'd just left me alone",
"I was almost home."
"Let me drive you to the mission."
He said: "Boy, if you left me alone,
"Right now, I'd be fishin'."
"I was runnin' from some honey bees".
"An' drip dryin' in the summer breeze",
"After jumpin' in to Calico Creek".
"I was walkin' down an old dirt road,
"Past a field of hay that had just been mowed".
"Man, I wish you'd just left me alone",
"'Cause I was almost home." (Almost home).
"I was almost home."
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Another country song that makes me wanna cry, well in fact I did...I am.
they played this song at my cousins funeral. i havent ever been the same since. i cant even listen to it and its been over a year
Different thoughts about home: Heaven or your actual home; the sweet childhood memories long ago? I see it as a sad reminder of what used to be and going back to those simple times. I wish I could go home.
A definite tear-jerker. There is a lot you can take from it. Maybe his idea of dying and going to heaven was to meet his mom and dad at the age he loved most... and go fishing. Maybe he just wanted to finish the dream... or maybe he wanted to be left alone so he could die in peace. In that sense, the song is perfect.
This song is so beautiful. It's about a homeless man whose life is gard, and he's remembering what it used to be. He's lying outside in the cold to die, in hopes of going "home" in Heaven where he can feel like his old self again. In my opinion, this is one of the best songs of all time.
Simply, it is a song about a homeless man that is about to die amidst harsh living conditions, and has accepted his fate. The person (singer) discovers him and motions to save his life, which irritates the homeless man.
One could interpret the basic philosophy of the song to be that the man felt that dying was a more preferable fate than continuing to live out the rest of his life, which was likely very hard and full of tragedy and hardships for him.
The part of the song where he describes running around the barn and being called by his mom was probably meant to symbolize the man finally getting the opportunity to reunite with his [dead] parents in the afterlife, something he yearned for. The mom telling him to hurry up might have been her spirit telling him to pass on and join up with her and her husband. The dad packing up the car might have been meant to symbolize the singer’s will to “move on” and pass into the next life.
Oh, and another thing. The lines of the chorus may be meant to symbolize a number of very hard events in the man’s life. He goes from running from honey bees to passing an untended field- a sort of bitter-sweet but peaceful conclusion to his life.