Oh girl I don't know all the reasons why,
I found the answer lookin' in your eye,
I go out walking all day long,
Take away this lonely man soon he will be gone,

Cause I'll tell you everything about being free,
Yes I can see you girl can you see me,

You don't need to know what I do all day,
It's as much as I know watch it waste away,

Cause I'll tell you everything about being free,
Yes I can see you girl can you see me,

Go and see the sorcerer look into a ball,
You may find the answer written on the wall,

The left one was a dancer can you see the answer, Oh

Put her in a mansion on top of the hill,
Please don't make her do things against her will,
I found something special I don't know why,
Looking into her pretty little eye,

Cause I'll tell you everything about being free,



Lyrics submitted by mattalac

Track duration: 03:47

"Vagabond" as written by Myles Heskett Andrew Stockdale

Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Vagabond song meanings
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34 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:Just my take:

    To me, this is a song about a guy who is certain he wants an uncertain girl. Its the classic little romantic story of he-knows-she-doesn't. The girl is unsure about her feelings for him, but he found his own answer just by "looking in her eye" and is confident he's right (take away this lonely man soon he will be gone). He is lonely, after all, as he says "I'll tell you everything about living free." He's telling her he knows what its like to be single and free, and he doesn't want that life anymore, he wants her, and is compromising his pride for her, beckoning her really (yes I can see you girl can you see me?) Also, the whole thing about going to see the sorcerer look into the ball, you may find the answer written on the wall indicates she's making something very simple more complicated, or perhaps waiting to hear something she already knows. The sorcerer and the wall... I can relate that to personal scenarios so incredibly well to a tee almost, but that's irrelevant. Unfortunately, all this bubbly happiness is from the perspective of the guy. The end of the story is hazy and even a bit eerie, with that long bit of an instrumental at the end. That combined with the "innocence lost" in the beginning tells me, at least, that this is a song about a one-sided relationship, one that the guy is tragically more involved in than the girl. That, of course, makes it a perfect song for 500 Days of Summer.
    Flag HammerFloydon December 28, 2012   Link
  • +2
    My Interpretation:From whatever perspective Wolfmother was adopting, he was taking on first-person of being a Vagabond. At the beginning of the song when he says "this is a song about innocence lost", he is referring to the girl he is love with. No, she wasn't raped. Trust me; if she was raped, we would know by the tone of the song, which doesn't suggest that at all. He seems to refer most frequently to the connection he feels when he looks "into her pretty little eye" or "Yes, girl I can see you, can you see me?" Maybe they have known each other for a long time and have felt a long-life connection until they grew parted their ways? He saying he can still feel the connection by saying "I can see you". He recognizes her for entirely what she is and nothing else, and he's wondering if she can see him too. He has found wisdom ("Go and see the sorcerer look into the ball, you might the answer written on the wall, the left was a dancer, can you see the answer") and freedom ("I'll tell you everything about being free") in being a vagabond, and he wants the same kind of freedom for the girl he loves. But by the lack of response from her in the song, he seems to insinuate that is her response. Maybe this entire song is only what he wishes he could say to her? When he says, "put in a mansion on top of the hill, please don't make her do things against her will", it sounds like he's telling someone what to do. Maybe her lover/husband? At this point, the song has taken a swing; at the beginning it sounded like he was talking to her, and at the end it sounds like he's giving someone advice for how to take care of her...

    Well, whatever this song means, it has inspired me to become a vagabond! You may never hear from me again! :D
    Flag scarlecy5on November 28, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I'm currently reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I feel like this song kind of parallels the book.
    Flag lovestolearnon November 13, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i havent gone through all the comments but i think that the rape thing is wayy off. Innocent lost and "i'll tell you everything about living free" i think he is implying that living free or like a vagabond isnt as rewarding or good as it is assumed. maybe thats what he means by innocent lost. "its as much as i know, watch it waste away" like he's doing nothing with his life. Live being free isnt as good .
    Flag Nour2357on October 05, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:When I listen to this song, what I picture really is a bunch of hippies in the 70's smoking weed in a park.

    I don't think 'innocence lost' refers to rape or prostitution, but more to a coming-of-age process, when you feel you can be completely free, but at the same time you're trapped by people's expectations. So I think the "please don't make her do the things against her will" line shouldn't be taken too literally; to me, if it means anything at all, it's more along the lines of being pressured into sex (or whatever else) rather than actually getting raped.
    Flag Ladyblue82on September 18, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:a man is lacking purpose, much like a vagabond, until he finds the answer in her eyes

    he was either tired/bored of being free

    or he is equating free to lonely

    i saw the movie twice and remembered the song for weeks later

    maybe it's about why someone would want to marry
    they don't know why except that they want to avoid being lonely

    also like the boy in the movie, he could see Summer in his future
    and needed her to see him

    best movie i've seen in a long time
    Flag mpm176on September 13, 2010   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:I like to think it's about a man who has made a mistake with his relationship. it's his only regret in life, and hes taking responsibilty for his mistake. so he's losing his "innocence". but, he is rising above it
    Flag nitsujon August 30, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:“This is a song about innocence lost.” as stated in the very beginning of the song...
    Anyone ever think that this song could be about a boy corrupting a girl to set her "free" for his own selfish needs?
    Flag amandamon June 18, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:They definetly wrote lyrics about rape and made the music sound colurful.
    Flag habitualon May 26, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think the bit about this song being about a homeless person is pretty spot on, however, I have another interpretation.

    I think it's referring a man falling in love with another woman who is currently taken, as someone mentioned earlier. She is tied down by the other man, and he (the speaker) feels like the other man is wrong for her.

    I know I didn't state my point very eloquently, but that is my take on the song.
    Flag Isotericon January 31, 2010   Link

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