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On a long and lonesome highway
east of Omaha
You can listen to the engine
moanin' out his one note song
You can think about the woman
or the girl you knew the night before
But your thoughts will soon be wandering
the way they always do
When you're ridin' sixteen hours
and there's nothin' much to do
And you don't feel much like ridin',
you just wish the trip was through
Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Well you walk into a restaurant,
strung out from the road
And you feel the eyes upon you
as you're shakin' off the cold
You pretend it doesn't bother you
but you just want to explode
Most times you can't hear 'em talk,
other times you can
All the same old cliches,
"Is that a woman or a man?"
And you always seem outnumbered,
you don't dare make a stand
Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin' star again
There I go
Turn the page
Out there in the spotlight
you're a million miles away
Every ounce of energy
you try to give away
As the sweat pours out your body
like the music that you play
Later in the evening
as you lie awake in bed
With the echoes from the amplifiers
ringin' in your head
You smoke the day's last cigarette,
rememberin' what she said
Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin' star again
There I go
Turn the page
Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin' star again
There I go
There I go
east of Omaha
You can listen to the engine
moanin' out his one note song
You can think about the woman
or the girl you knew the night before
But your thoughts will soon be wandering
the way they always do
When you're ridin' sixteen hours
and there's nothin' much to do
And you don't feel much like ridin',
you just wish the trip was through
Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Well you walk into a restaurant,
strung out from the road
And you feel the eyes upon you
as you're shakin' off the cold
You pretend it doesn't bother you
but you just want to explode
Most times you can't hear 'em talk,
other times you can
All the same old cliches,
"Is that a woman or a man?"
And you always seem outnumbered,
you don't dare make a stand
Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin' star again
There I go
Turn the page
Out there in the spotlight
you're a million miles away
Every ounce of energy
you try to give away
As the sweat pours out your body
like the music that you play
Later in the evening
as you lie awake in bed
With the echoes from the amplifiers
ringin' in your head
You smoke the day's last cigarette,
rememberin' what she said
Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin' star again
There I go
Turn the page
Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin' star again
There I go
There I go
Lyrics submitted by kevin
Track duration: 03:11
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"You can think about the woman or the girl you knew the night before"
Directly refers to this past love or relationship
"But your thoughts will soon be wandering the way they always do"
This line refers to "what-if" thoughts which always run through his mind when theres not much to do
And you don't feel much like ridin', you just wish the trip was through"
This line references his "ride" of finding himself and wishing the pain and inconveniences of being "on the road" would just be over.
I believe the whole verse about walking into a restaurant and hearing the people talk about him may refer to him taking a break from the "road" only to hear the people in his life criticizing him about his lifestyle choices which makes him feel like he wants to "explode" and that it is not worth "making a stand" to defend himself since he feels "outnumbered"
"Out there in the spotlight you're a million miles away"
Seger is finally "up on the stage and playing the star again" and has finally reached his goal of finding himself and the girl is now finally a distant part of his life"
"Later in the evening as you lie awake in bed, With the echoes from the amplifiers
ringin' in your head. You smoke the days last cigarette, rememberin what she said"
The final line in my opinion is the most defining of the song. He is trying to say at the end of the day that even after being "on the road" for so long and finally reaching the "stage" (trying to finding himself and finally reaching a place where he belongs) the thought of the women he loved will always be on his mind.
However, for anyone to say that Metallica's attempt was laughable is in itself laughable.
Surely Metallica can comment on the pros and cons of being on the road, which is what I reckon the song is about?
...and its good to hear a different take on it, even if Seger's version is superior.
It is about persistence in the face of your own doubt. We can all identify with this and THAT is the source of the songs power.