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 outsideWhat I used to beI'm notanymore.You know I've heard about people like meBut I never made the connection.They walk one road to set them freeAnd find they've gone the wrong direction.But there's no need for turning backCause all roads lead to where I stand;And I believe I'll walk them allNo 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 nowAnd cast this darkness from my soul.You alone can light my way.You alone can make me wholeOnce again.We've walked both sides of every streetThrough all kinds of windy weather;But that was never our defeatAs long as we could walk together.So there's no need for turning backCause all roads lead to where we stand;And I believe we'll walk them allNo matter what we may have planned.

 

Listen to the original song by Don McLean HERE

Credits: Don McLean, 1971, American Pie

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