My time went so quickly, I went lickety-splickly out to my old '55
Pulled away slowly, feeling so holy, God knows, I was feeling alive.
And now the sun's coming up, I'm riding with Lady Luck, freeway cars and trucks,
Stars beginning to fade, and I lead the parade
Just a-wishing I'd stayed a little longer,
Oh, Lord, that the feeling's getting stronger.
Now six in the morning, gave me no warning; I had to be on my way.
Lights passing and trucks a flashing,
I'm on my way home from your place.
And now the sun's coming up, I'm riding with Lady Luck, freeway cars and trucks.
Pulled away slowly, feeling so holy, God knows, I was feeling alive.
Stars beginning to fade, and I lead the parade
Just a-wishing I'd stayed a little longer,
Oh, Lord, that the feeling's getting stronger.
Lights passing and trucks a flashing,
I'm on my way home from your place.
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The song is about Tom's friend Larry Beazer who while on a date needed to get her back to Pasadena, and the only gear left on his car was reverse so the song is about the drive back home, in reverse, with every car flashing him, a bunch of cars stuck behind him cause he's so slow going backwards (the parade he's leading), being over taken by trucks cause again he's so slow and even though everyone else on the road is mad at him, he's had a great date and is generally pretty happy
Tom Discussed it on the VH1 storyteller album
@AbnormalErnie I suspect that's Waits pulling the audience's collective leg?
@AbnormalErnie I suspect that's Waits pulling the audience's collective leg?
@AbnormalErnie I suspect that's Waits pulling the audience's collective leg?
@AbnormalErnie I suspect that's Waits pulling the audience's collective leg?
Literal meaning is about driving his old truck home after hooking up. The Deeper meaning is about death after having lived a full life.
and The Old '55 isn't really a Truck it's a Hurst.
and The Old '55 isn't really a Truck it's a Hurst.
@timboking "The Deeper meaning" is NOT about death, that's really ridiculous. I guess you're just a dark person. Wear a lot of black?
@timboking "The Deeper meaning" is NOT about death, that's really ridiculous. I guess you're just a dark person. Wear a lot of black?
it's a metaphor about death.
@RoyTek Why would YOU take a night of satisfaction to morbidity. There nothing there. What's with the death freaks. I get a high from a beautiful early morning ride in my ol' rod after a great night of love that I may have left a little early to get back to my wheels.
@RoyTek Why would YOU take a night of satisfaction to morbidity. There nothing there. What's with the death freaks. I get a high from a beautiful early morning ride in my ol' rod after a great night of love that I may have left a little early to get back to my wheels.
I thought this was called Freeway, Cars and Trucks. No matter-it's typically great reminiscing Waits. I like the Eagles version too.
I find the Early Years version very intimate
best song about a man and his car
About a man driving home, after spending the night with his lover, and having one of those moments when you're just happy, and at peace with your life. "Feeling so holy/ God knows I was feeling alive." Sex as a kind of religious experience. Ah, I love Waits. He has no equal.
I love this version, cheers me up every time (in a sad kind of way)
even though the narrator is at peace in this song, you still feel a lingering sorrow reflected in his voice...
That's pretty much sums up everything Tom has ever done.
That's pretty much sums up everything Tom has ever done.
What do you do when your girlfriend abruptly dumps you very early in the morning? Well, you leave in a hurry. Then get in your trusty old car and drive slowly home. Thinking about your sudden change of life circumstances, you notice small details and have moments of poignant emotional clarity. Early morning commuters and truckers are in more of a hurry than you, so you take the slow lane and they pass you when they can. Driving through the pre-dawn darkness, you imagine the road as a metaphor for life and how to live it. How did you get here, and where will you go next? You liked this girl. You thought this was a girl you could be with for a long time. But then she dumped you without any warning and the relationship is over way too soon. Maybe if you\'d only given her more of your best quality time then she wouldn\'t have felt she needed to move on. You feel sad, but optimistic. You are "riding with Lady Luck" - betting on the future now, hoping for better luck with your next GF. "Dang!", you think, "I could write a great song about this..."