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Long black limousine
Shiniest car I've ever seen
The back seat is nice and clean
She rides as quiet as a dream
Someone dug a hole six long feet in the ground
I said goodbye to you and I threw my roses down
Ain't nothing left at all in the end of being proud
With me riding in a race car, and you flying through the clouds
I've had some time to think about you
And watch the sun sink like a stone
I've had some time to think about you
On the long ride home
One day I took your tiny hand
Put your finger in the wedding band
Your daddy gave a piece of land
We laid ourselves the best of plans
Forty years go by with someone laying in your bed
Forty years of things you wish you'd never said
How hard would it have been to say some kinder words instead
I wonder as I stare up at the sky turning red
I've had some time to think about you
And watch the sun sink like a stone
I've had some time to think about you
On the long ride home
Headlights staring at the driveway
The house is dark as it can be
I go inside and all is silent
It seems as empty as the inside of me
I've had some time to think about you
And watch the sun sink like a stone
I've had some time to think about you
On the long, on the long
Oh the long, on the long
On the long ride home
Shiniest car I've ever seen
The back seat is nice and clean
She rides as quiet as a dream
Someone dug a hole six long feet in the ground
I said goodbye to you and I threw my roses down
Ain't nothing left at all in the end of being proud
With me riding in a race car, and you flying through the clouds
I've had some time to think about you
And watch the sun sink like a stone
I've had some time to think about you
On the long ride home
One day I took your tiny hand
Put your finger in the wedding band
Your daddy gave a piece of land
We laid ourselves the best of plans
Forty years go by with someone laying in your bed
Forty years of things you wish you'd never said
How hard would it have been to say some kinder words instead
I wonder as I stare up at the sky turning red
I've had some time to think about you
And watch the sun sink like a stone
I've had some time to think about you
On the long ride home
Headlights staring at the driveway
The house is dark as it can be
I go inside and all is silent
It seems as empty as the inside of me
I've had some time to think about you
And watch the sun sink like a stone
I've had some time to think about you
On the long, on the long
Oh the long, on the long
On the long ride home
Lyrics submitted by AmandaPanda345
Track duration: 03:32
"Long Ride Home" as written by Patty Griffin
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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On the long ride home he recollects the beginning of their lives together, how over time he took her for granted, said unkind words, etc.
Then he's pulling into the driveway and he realizes how empty his life is now without her.
I imagine a person could sing this song from a widow's perspective, but it is very clearly from a widower's perspective.
Patty has assumed the male voice before in "Top of the World". In that song she is singing from the perspective a man who has recently died. "One night they called me to supper, but I never got up. I stayed right there in my chair."
I wouldn't say that this song is about a bad marriage, it could be, but i don't think that is the point. Either in a bad or even a great marriage there is room for mistakes and i think she is really touching on the epiphany that is being felt by realizing that "Ain't nothing left at all in the end of being proud", she basically feels really stupid for standing her ground on things just because of her pride in anything, an argument, a major family decisions, really anything. Thats why i think her Music is great she seems to try to leave it open for any situation pertaining to the raw emotions she is putting out in the songs.
"Forty years of things you say you wish you'd never said
How hard would it have been to say some kinder words instead"
This shows and supports the idea that she really just feels sad, lonely, and stupid for being like that(remember it could be anything she feels bad about cause she leaves it open), when she now realizes how short life is and how she can't take anything back and wished she knew what she knows now how she could have been better then she was.
Thank You Patty, You give me chills.
The other comments on this are all either interesting about the song or spot on in remarking what a precious talent Patty Griffin is.
It sounds to me like it was actually for the most part an unpleasant marriage. We know they married because of "taking your tiny hand and placed your finger in a wedding band"- men can have tiny hands too :) and perhaps its really just talking about at the actual wedding when the wedding bands are exchanged- thus my belief it's from a woman's perspective initially. "Daddy gave a piece of land" is probably referencing the wedding dowry of land for farming. They had made themselves the best of plans at the beginning, but for the past 40 years he/she felt like they were sleeping next to a stranger "40 years go by with someone laying in your bed" and that the spouse was very harsh to them "40 years of things you say you wish you'd never said"- it all sounds to me like the living spouse went into the marriage with all these great plans and ideas of what marriage and a life with this person be like, and now that it's all over they're looking back and realizing that that person was never the person they thought they were at all. And are even questioning if they were intentionally degrading them with the comment of "things you say you wish you'd never said," if the living spouse really believed that the dead spouse felt bad for things they said then i think it would have been worded differently, but things you say imply that they weren't necessarily sincere in their admitting they wish they'd never said it. At any rate she's wondering why he/she couldn't have been nicer to them as they look at the sky turn red (implying they're becoming anger perhaps with the red reference?)
Then once they get home after thinking over the past 40 years they come home to a house that is as empty as them, thus a realization that even if after 40 years of frustration and heartache they still have this empty feeling because at the end of it all, that person was their home, they were his/her life. They had dedicated so much of themselves and their time to this person that they are now "empty" without having them there. Perhaps a sense of buyer's remorse of sorts?? And still they probably are feeling like there was a reason to marry them in the first place, they did really love them for some reason. But what part of that person did they really love, and was that part still present the whole time. This last little bit is obviously me doting upon experiences from others, but things to think about none-the-less.
Marriage is (or is supposed to be anyways) a life long commitment. It's saying to the other I am investing myself, my dreams, and my life in you and assuming that you are doing the same. That we will want the best for each other and try to make sure that we are both not just taken care of, but that we are happy and working towards the same thing. Once it becomes one-sided, once it becomes a case where someone is constantly giving while the other is just taking from the other, the giving partner becomes resentful. Unfortunately this is generally the person like the singer in the song who probably feels so invested and hopeful that things will go along with their initial "best plans" and keep waiting for something to turn around. In reality it would probably take time for the other spouse to realize and then change his/her actions for the giving and taking to balance out... or it may be time to admit that the other person isn't the same person you married... or not the person you thought you married at all. Things to ponder I suppose. Perfect reasons for really making sure you know the one you're marrying and what it is they want from life. Or at least being vocal when feeling like you're being taken advantage of before your spouse/friend/acquaintance thinks that it is normal to take advantage of you (and perhaps doesn't even realize they are taking advantage)
Happy listening!
"Ain't nothing left at all in the end of being proud."
"Forty years of things you say you wish you'd never said. How hard would it have been to say some kinder words instead?"
I agree with dark_maiden101 that this is from a guy's perspective about his wife's death, but it's indirect, which makes this song even better.
The opening references about the car are the first hint. Most "car talk" comes from guys, and all the references about "Shiniest thing I've ever seen", "quiet as a dream", and "nice and clean" indicate a guy, IMHO.
Then the lyric, "One day I took your tiny hand" only makes sense from a man's perspective. If anyone can interpret this as coming from a woman, please let me know.
Finally, The lyrics literally tip-toe around the emotional reality of the situation, sticking to the facts almost exclusively. Notice that the lyric is "and *seems* as empty as the inside of me" rather than "and *feels* ...". This lyrical style sure seems to indicate a guy who just lost his wife, at least to me.
It's Patty's voice that breaks through the shell of literal words to the feelings within of utter loss and devastation. *We* feel the emotional connection from the bittersweet juxtaposition of the understated lyrics and their resonant delivery.