Although this song does have many literal implications about being on the road I believe the deeper meaning of this is referring to a past relationship with being "on the road again" referring to Seger trying to find himself and trying to "turn the page" from the past into the future.
"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.
Although this song does have many literal implications about being on the road I believe the deeper meaning of this is referring to a past relationship with being "on the road again" referring to Seger trying to find himself and trying to "turn the page" from the past into the future.
"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.