Riding for the Feeling

The instrumentation in this song makes me feel the sadness in saying good-byes, but also inevitability of them. Because good-byes happen all the time do they become less sad, less emotional, more routine? The lyrics of the song make me waver.

The lyrics seem to examine the peculiarity of good-byes (and interpersonal interactions) for a musician (or anyone else who travels for a living). Some good-byes are still sad, while others are awkward or empty. The musician has this interaction with a crowd who doesn't want him to leave, but its as if he realizes that the music creates a false sense of intimacy between himself and the fans. Even figuratively, no one answers his questions, directs questions at him, or wants to know who he is as a person. The conclusion about good-byes at shows (as in life) seems to be that it is an immutable law-- one must move on to the next gig-- yet this realization doesn't necessarily make the good-byes easier, less akward or strained.

an interesting comment in an interview by Bill

"“The apocalypse in that song is a lecturer who realises he hasn’t in all of his teaching mentioned the really important thing,” says Callahan, picking up a little. “I just wanted to write from the perspective of a college professor or something — some guy who goes around giving talks. I started thinking about the way we perceive things, how we don’t see things moving. We see snapshots, you know… There’s a space between each snapshot you see and your mind connects them all like a movie. It’s the way scientists say we perceive things. And it’s almost like each photograph is the death and the new one is rebirth.”

It's never easy to say goodbye To the faces So rarely do we see another one So close and so long

I like to think that this verse reads "It's never easy to say goodbye to the faces. So rarely do we see another one so close; and "so long"' As if he is saying that so rarely do we see another person so close (so intimately) before one has to leave again. At which point one must again say goodbye, or as my grandfather would have said "So long" hence the "...and so long" (ending the interaction with a goodbye, starting the whole cycle over again).

Highly doubtful that this is how it was intended to be read, but I so rarely hear anyone say "so long" anymore and I find the possibility of it being used in this song so very familiar and touching.

This is about doing things and not knowing why. following your gut feeling without even knowing that this is what it is.

It feels empty sometimes, it seems (from life and from the song...)