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Long Way from Home Lyrics
Held on to hope like a noose, like a rope
God and medicine take no mercy on him
Poisoned his blood, and burned out his throat
Enough is enough, he's a long way from home
Days of my youth wasted on a selfish fool
Who ran for the hills from the hand you were dealt
I flew far away, as far as I could go
Your time is running out
And I'm a long way from home
Laid up in bed, you were laid up in bed
Holding the pain like you're holding your breath
I prayed you could sleep, sleep like a stone
You're right next to me
But you're a long way from home
Hospital gowns never fit like they should
We yelled at the nurse, didn't do any good
More morphine, the last words you moaned
At last I was sure
That you weren't far away from home
God and medicine take no mercy on him
Poisoned his blood, and burned out his throat
Enough is enough, he's a long way from home
Who ran for the hills from the hand you were dealt
I flew far away, as far as I could go
Your time is running out
And I'm a long way from home
Holding the pain like you're holding your breath
I prayed you could sleep, sleep like a stone
You're right next to me
But you're a long way from home
We yelled at the nurse, didn't do any good
More morphine, the last words you moaned
At last I was sure
That you weren't far away from home
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This seems to be about a person who is by their dads side while he goes through a fight with cancer and chemotherapy. He is finally learning of all the intimacies in his dad's life that he hadn't known before. His dad seems to be a closed-off kind of grumpy guy (yelling at the nurse). Eventually his father dies in the battle with the disease and he's finally "home", Heaven maybe? Or with his previously deceased wife? First-hand I know this is a horrible experience to watch your father slowly whither away from this disease. I was also lucky enough to watch him bounce back though, couldn't imagine it going the other way.
Wesley mentioned during their 1/20/17 show that this was about his father's fight with a form of cancer that started in his jaw
My interpretation, as a critical care nurse, is as stated. End-of-life can be very painful, and it sounds like he's been through chemo maybe, but most certainly radiation (with the throat burns). Everyone thinks chemo is bad, but radiation burns are far worse & do long-term damage to cancerous tissue and the healthy tissue that surrounds it. A very moving song.
My interpretation, as a critical care nurse, is as stated. End-of-life can be very painful, and it sounds like he's been through chemo maybe, but most certainly radiation (with the throat burns). Everyone thinks chemo is bad, but radiation burns are far worse & do long-term damage to cancerous tissue and the healthy tissue that surrounds it. A very moving song.
I came upon the live version first, wow I was so humbled. My wife is into her 5+ years of stage 4 lung cancer and I can relate her experience to the lyrics. I have to attribute her longevity to UC health near Denver, however in recent times she started Chemo, though it has stopped working.
The lyrics: Poisoned his blood, and burned out his throat refer to the kind (location) of cancer he had. My wife did not experience that pain, though she has terrible side effects. 'Poisoned his blood' yes, so much so that she had to sleep separately for the first 3 days following each treatment.
'God and medicine take no mercy on him'-She is a religious person too and very stoic about her journey, me: I fall apart easy. Her medicine ultimately failed, her god has surrounded her with kind support people.
'You're right next to me But you're a long way from home' Again, her meds keep her mind adrift, always the new side effects. Often she questions the wisdom of continuing.
'Who ran for the hills from the hand you were dealt'- Sad, but some choose to leave rather than be a care-giver. Me, I'm in it for the long haul.