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Motor Away Lyrics
When you motor away
beyond the once-red lips
When you free yourself
from the chance of a lifetime
You can be anyone they told you to
You can belittle every little voice that told you so
And then the time will come when you add up the numbers
And then the time will come when you motor away
Oh, why don't you just drive away?
When you motor away
down the icy streets
You can't lie to yourself
that it's the chance of a lifetime
You can be anyone they told you to
You can belittle every little voice that told you so
And then the time will come when you add up the numbers
And then the time will come when you motor away
Oh, why don't you just drive away?
Come on,
Speed on
beyond the once-red lips
When you free yourself
from the chance of a lifetime
You can be anyone they told you to
You can belittle every little voice that told you so
And then the time will come when you add up the numbers
And then the time will come when you motor away
Oh, why don't you just drive away?
down the icy streets
You can't lie to yourself
that it's the chance of a lifetime
You can be anyone they told you to
You can belittle every little voice that told you so
And then the time will come when you add up the numbers
And then the time will come when you motor away
Oh, why don't you just drive away?
Speed on
Song Info
Submitted by
i Saw Star Wars On Apr 26, 2002
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Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Your car, your ability to just drive away--this represents freedom (perhaps only temporary) from the things in day-to-day life which tie you down: your marriage, your job, etc.
The "once-red lips" probably refer to a wife you once fell for, but who doesn't seem as appealing anymore.
A lot of irony here: "free yourself from the chance of a lifetime" suggests that the American dream of a suburban house with a wife and 2.5 kids is not exactly the kind of life Bob hoped he would have (assuming the protagonist of the song is in fact Bob)
"You can be anyone they told you to" is bitterly ironic, and perhaps one of the most brilliant lines Bob has ever written. How many times have you heard people say, "You can be anything you want, if you just work hard enough at it." The person singing these words has lived long enough to know that chasing your dreams isn't so easy...that there are all kinds of pressures holding you back.
Of course, no one could possibly appreciate the meaning of this song without hearing how much it rocks.
i think it's about being confused as to what to do with your life but at the same time too lazy and stubborn to listen to advice or actually do anything about it
I think this is a reverse on the old "follow your dreams" motif. Maybe your dream of stardom or whatever isn't all it's cracked up to be; it's just another way of falling into line. So motor away...leave it all behind.
I think it's about being somewhat self reliant, but without having any clue about what happens next, or being materially secure. Ditching cultural garbage slogans about life and simply living your own life. If that translates to not giving a fuck when viewed by those who never leave culturally condoned ways of living, then that's what it is. It's not about being reckless and stupid, but believing your own ideas of how you want to live whatever situation you have. Some of it is leaving behind those "once red lips" your own ambitions and pasions "to be something" and then you're free to be anything your imagination allows. Jesus, this explanation is longer than the whole fuckin song.
"...And then the time will come when you add up the numbers"
Indeed it will, and has.