There are some implied parts of the story, such as a breakup in the distant past, where the narrator left behind his "hard-lovin\' Georgia girl," perhaps in search of something else or a new adventure. The song is set at a time in the narrator\'s life when he recalls fondly that she was "the girl who said she loved me." It\'s interesting that he says "the" girl, emphasizing that there was something unique and special about her loving him, like a first love kind of thing, or the only real love he ever experienced. He now has "nothing in my pockets", speaking to his literal poverty but also his humble position in seeking her love once again, with nothing to offer but himself. \n\nHe says, "She\'s the only one who knows, how it feels when you lose a dream, and how it feels when you dream alone." This might be referring to the way she lost the dream of being with him and how he later lost the dream of whatever he pursued after he left her. They both endured loneliness as a result of these losses. \n\nThe narrator repeats that he hopes to "settle down with that hard-lovin\' Georgia girl." He\'s now at a point in his life where, through his losses and broken dreams, he can appreciate the value of the way this woman loved him in that "hot dusty long ago." Whether she\'s around to take him back or not, the narrator craves that love in a way that he couldn\'t settle into in an earlier point in his life. He returns to this love humbly; walking, not driving, with nothin\' in his pockets, ready to be loved for who he is.
There are some implied parts of the story, such as a breakup in the distant past, where the narrator left behind his "hard-lovin\' Georgia girl," perhaps in search of something else or a new adventure. The song is set at a time in the narrator\'s life when he recalls fondly that she was "the girl who said she loved me." It\'s interesting that he says "the" girl, emphasizing that there was something unique and special about her loving him, like a first love kind of thing, or the only real love he ever experienced. He now has "nothing in my pockets", speaking to his literal poverty but also his humble position in seeking her love once again, with nothing to offer but himself. \n\nHe says, "She\'s the only one who knows, how it feels when you lose a dream, and how it feels when you dream alone." This might be referring to the way she lost the dream of being with him and how he later lost the dream of whatever he pursued after he left her. They both endured loneliness as a result of these losses. \n\nThe narrator repeats that he hopes to "settle down with that hard-lovin\' Georgia girl." He\'s now at a point in his life where, through his losses and broken dreams, he can appreciate the value of the way this woman loved him in that "hot dusty long ago." Whether she\'s around to take him back or not, the narrator craves that love in a way that he couldn\'t settle into in an earlier point in his life. He returns to this love humbly; walking, not driving, with nothin\' in his pockets, ready to be loved for who he is.