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Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond the illusion
I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high
Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I'm dreamin', I can hear them say
Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know
On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune, but I hear the voices say
Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Carry on, you will always remember
Carry on, nothing equals the splendor
Now your life's no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you
Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond the illusion
I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high
Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I'm dreamin', I can hear them say
Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know
On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune, but I hear the voices say
Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Carry on, you will always remember
Carry on, nothing equals the splendor
Now your life's no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you
Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
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To me, this song is about a person who has some sort of a mission or mandate, and is trying to fight or go against it by "setting a course" for fortune, or his own personal interests or whatever, with his attempts getting derailed. However, he knows he has a purpose, bringing say, peace, to people, and deep down, he knows he can't really stray from it.
The "there'll be peace when you are done" line, however, may suggest that, at the end of his journey, he'll find rest and what he longed after and that his mission has succeeded then.
Alternatively, it could mean that the Wayward Son has found peace in form of a final rest, and doesn't have to suffer that pain he appears to.
he went through a situation(not drugs) that would make a normal person insane for many years and every time he was away from it he got dragged back in
so he always seen freedom (beyond the illusion) but always got dragged back down.
he claimed he had in under control (if i claim to be a wise man surley that means that i dont know)
than he met me and i refused to let him sink any further i pulled him up and away from it all and i say to him now he has something to live (now your lifes no longer empty)
that he can live in peace (surley heaven waits for you)
plus its from supernatural whats not to love?
Clearly you did not get the point whatsoever....holy crap problem NOT solved. To dismiss the song and its significance as some drug trip that only (god forbid) those evil "drug users" would “get” is short sided to say the least. The song hasn't inspired people since 1976 simply because it's a drug induced meaningless pile of words -- it moves people because the lyrics are powerful and the musicianship supreme. It has inspired generations because of how people "feel" when they hear the song. Many think it's the story of a hero (i.e. "the wayward son" ) who us undergoing a journey (presumably spiritual in nature). Whether his journey is real, a dream, experienced through meditation or drugs -- it doesn't matter. The point is the journey and the protagonist attempt to "rise above the noise and confusion" to find out what is real and true. The wayward son is haunted by "the voices" who seem to be telling him to press on or "carry on" with the journey and that he will eventually come to terms with or experience "peace" in the end "for there'll be peace when you are done". What is clear is that you are not as introspective one would hope -- so next time spare us the superficial, judgmental "it must be drugs" sophomoric commentary so that we can get on to something more substantial.