Eagles – Ol' 55

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  General Comment:It could be about leaving behind a period of your life and starting out new. Even though he knows he has to leave, he's already feeling the pangs of nostalgia/homesickness: "wishin' I'd stayed a little longer".

  Flag Lioness89on September 13, 2010   Link

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    Geez,you people are CLUELESS!!! As you may or may not know,OTR truckers have "one night stands" because they are away from home so long and their wives or girlfriends live with that.'Ol 55 can refer to one of 2 things,either a 55 foot trailer or a 1955 truck he is driving(its not uncommon for old trucks to still run).He has visited a "lady" at a truck stop.It felt good and he wanted to "stay a little longer",but is now heading home to his GF or wife at home."Leading the parade" means as people wake up and go to work,including other truckers at the truck stop,he is one of the first ones out on the road.I love how people just make stuff up to suit them.This is the meaning and I know cause I was there.yeah I'm 56,a bit younger than the Eagles.but now you know the TRUE meaning,so read them AGAIN! lol

    Flag Shazodyon March 20, 2013  
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  General Comment:No, Tom Waits himself states that this song is about a friend calling him up in the middle of the night asking for gas money so he could drive the girl he was out with on a date back to her house. The car was in such bad shape that it only had reverse left on it so the friend sold Tom some jokes he could use in exchange for money so he could buy some gas to drive his date home. Tom claims the car was either a '55 Buick Roadmaster or Cadillac and his friend actually drove home all the way in reverse.. If you read the lyrics it all makes sense.

  Flag FallSemester_on February 11, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:I hate to be a kill-joy, but if you know Tom Waits' attitudes and keep an open mind while enjoying this classic, this song is written from the viewpoint of the recently departed of a funeral procession. He's leading the parade, driving away slowly (Eagles substitute "pulled away" in first verse which does sound like leaving a woman), had no warning (he died unexpectedly), life went by too fast (lickety splitly), original lyrics had "trucks are all passing me, lights are all flashing me" because funerals used to get stop lights to blink so everyone would stop & let funeral go by...
  
  Give it a listen with that in mind and see if you don't experience it in a whole different "light".
  
  Definately of the best of the Eagles, made only better by it's multiple layers of meanings.

  Flag sholleranon March 23, 2008   Link

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  General Comment:But this cover is awesome!

  Flag MookieBomberon March 04, 2006   Link

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  General Comment:Not by the Eagles. Written by Tom Waits. Both versions are really good though

  Flag FallSemester_on December 22, 2005   Link

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  General Comment:ok, this is one of the greatest songs on the frickin planet. how i interpret this is like he had this girl and he's happy with the time he had with her but he 'just a wishin' i'd stayed a little longer' meaning that it wasn't quite perfect. also, with the cars all passin' me and those lines, that like means that life seems to just pass by before your eyes without stopping. i could be dead wrong about this but w/e. it's still the best song by the eagles. it should be on the greatest hits album.

  Flag take it 2 the limiton December 30, 2004   Link

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