Midnight Rider Lyrics
And I'm bound to keep on riding.
And I've got one more silver dollar,
But I'm not gonna let them catch me, no,
Not gonna let 'em catch the Midnight Rider.
And I don't own the clothes I'm wearing,
And the road goes on forever,
And I've got one more silver dollar,
But I'm not gonna let them catch me, no
Not gonna let 'em catch the Midnight Rider.
And I've gone by the point of caring,
Some old bed I'll soon be sharing,
And I've got one more silver dollar,
(Repeat three times and Fade)
But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no
Not gonna let them catch the Midnight Rider.
The lyrics wreak of desperation, save for the recurring reference to that last silver dollar. Surely a dollar isn't enough to sustain a human body. It seems more like something that sustains a desperate soul. Maybe hope? Maybe a phrase overheard in a casino (false hope). Whatever that silver dollar represents, it seems to define the ability to muster the will to survive with even the smallest chance. Most likely a tune more appreciated by non-conformists. So very well-received when it was released in 1970.
I've always thought it was a reference to pride. I know several men who no matter what will keep one dollar on them at all times. My husband told me it was a pride thing. Who knows. I may be way off on thinking that. Great song.
I've always thought it was a reference to pride. I know several men who no matter what will keep one dollar on them at all times. My husband told me it was a pride thing. Who knows. I may be way off on thinking that. Great song.
I was told once that silver dollar was slang for an oz of cocaine. /shrug
I was told once that silver dollar was slang for an oz of cocaine. /shrug
They performed this song (obviously) at the last show I went to, and Gregg was amazing. You almost get lost in his emotion, like a hitchhiker walking the country road at night, with nowhere to go, but nowhere to stay. Truly amazing.
I played this tune for my buddy when he was truly "on the lamb", and it made his spirits rise. Dude had a buck and a ride. He wasn't a violent felon, just an unlucky drug doer. The Midnight Rider slips on by into the night.
i think that it's an outlaw biker talking about their current circumstances. though obviously the author draws from their experience as a touring musician, song writers (particularly rock musicians from a relative time period) often exaggerate their experiences to come up with material that reflects in part things they might be romancing about and/or often the artist doesn't feel their particular story (verbatim) is anything worth writing into a song.
It's about a lonely man on the road, walking a fine line between lawlessness and divinity.
This could quite possibly be the greatest song ever.
it uses traditional folk and blues themes of desperation, determination, and a man on the run: I've got one more silver dollar, But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no ... Not gonna let 'em catch The midnight rider.
i had to comment on this alman bros. classic, this song on filmore east does something to me. lets just say the raw sound of the duane on guitar just really sets taht lonely feel which is what this song is about. latenight driving on a lonely highway
As Cadillac4life said it is wonderful for nighttime drives when your headed down south with no one on road and just the warm nighttime breeze rushing by. great song, the silver dollar seems like it is his one thing left that he will not give up. he talks about sharing a bed and what not so that must cost money. He obviously will not give the silver dollar away so it must represent something less tangible than money. Maybe your beliefs or heart or soul. maybe it symbolizes something different to everyone
I think this is about a musician on the road. He is saying that he has to keep moving and drinking and/or taking drugs to keep going and face his troubles. He is wearing borrowed clothes to perform his act in and he can't see the end of touring. He is going to spend his last dollar on having a good time so he can keep his spirits up and people won't see him feeling down. He is so tired of his lifestyle that he is jaded and indifferent to people and events and he will sleep with whomever comes along.
I think so too, unfortunately. A decent band that's been around a very long time.
I think so too, unfortunately. A decent band that's been around a very long time.
I always liked the old west imagery,"one more silver dollar" and the "some old bed I'll soon be sharing"-hence a brothel...it pertains to the oldy-timey and the modern. Love Greg's vocals and the guitar riff. :)
I always liked the old west imagery,"one more silver dollar" and the "some old bed I'll soon be sharing"-hence a brothel...it pertains to the oldy-timey and the modern. Love Greg's vocals and the guitar riff. :)
It's actually about a Revolutionary Era Rebel in New England who was nick named The Midnight Rider after being the only one of a group of three to make it passed British Soldiers. There is a path named for him. Prescott Path.