E19: Crossroads - Don McLean (Cover)

Don McLean - Crossroads (Song) 

 

Written/Released: 1971

Album: American Pie

Theme & Story: "I think this line is the essence of the pop ballad; the sense of regret, the wish to turn back time, the fear of the road lying ahead. Textually, the song is about a man who returns to a long lost love and begs for salvation. But that’s far too linear interpretation. I read the entire second verse in a far more spiritual way. Hope and salvation lie with anything that will join you on the inevitable journey of life. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be a person – it can be an idea, a thought, an emotion and even an absence. Sometimes absences are stronger than presences. “But there’s no need for turning back, ’cause all the roads lead to where I stand.”" (inartematt.com,2019) 

 

Lyrics:

I've got nothing on my mind,
Nothing to remember,
Nothing to forget.
And I've got nothing to regret.
But I'm all tied up on the inside,
No one knows quite what I've got,
And I know that on the outside
What I used to be
I'm not
anymore.

You know I've heard about people like me
But I never made the connection.
They walk one road to set them free
And find they've gone the wrong direction.
But there's no need for turning back
Cause all roads lead to where I stand;
And I believe I'll walk them all
No matter what I may have planned.

Can you remember who I was?
Can you still feel it?
Can you find my pain?
Can you heal it?

Then lay your hands upon me now
And cast this darkness from my soul.
You alone can light my way.
You alone can make me whole
Once again.

We've walked both sides of every street
Through all kinds of windy weather;
But that was never our defeat
As long as we could walk together.
So there's no need for turning back
Cause all roads lead to where we stand;
And I believe we'll walk them all
No matter what we may have planned.

 

Listen to the original song by Don McLean HERE

Credits: Don McLean, 1971, American Pie