Lynyrd Skynyrd's Travelling Philosophy Lessons
How Classic Rock Lyrics are Relevant to Independent Backpackers
May 7, 2009
Lynyrd Skynyrd return to the road this year as they start a world tour. This article compares the band's lyrics with travel writing, and finds common ground.
How Lynyrd Skynyrd Observed, Thought and Wrote Classic Rock Songs
Music and travel made an irresistible combination for Lynyrd Skynyrd, and they usually got their fix by touring across the states and world. The time on the road also gave them time to find themselves, let their surroundings soak in and the mix channel out in their classic rock lyrics and tunes.
This is transferable to most experiences while travelling. Having the time and freedom to observe and think is an ideal way to find your epiphany, whether people are just travelling for enjoyment; climbing and other adrenalin sports; looking for your ideal culture; finding cities time forgot; animals that amaze; or the best group of people.
Lynyrd Skynyrd and Jack Kerouac on Travel Fatigue
Although travelling can help people find their epiphany and be great fun, even the most ardent traveller usually gets to the stage where they tire with the road, and would prefer to be at home with all the comforts that it holds.
As Jack Kerouac wrote in On The Road (Viking, 1957): 'and that was the one distinct time in my life, the strangest moment of all, when I didn't know who I was — I was far away from home, haunted and tired with travel, in a cheap hotel room I'd never seen...'
Whether it is illness, robbery, loneliness or just plain homesickness that sets those thoughts off, many travellers know that life on the road is not always rosy.
This was mirrored by Lynyrd Skynyrd on Roll Gypsy Roll (Allen Collins, Gary Rossington and Ronnie Van Zant, 1975): ‘Riding on a greyhound, counting those white lines, destination I don’t know and I’m feeling like I’m dying, well ten years on this road, my its took its toll...’
Lynyrd Skynyrd Write of the Desire to Return Home
Some travellers don’t want to travel for more than a few weeks, while others stay on the road for years; however, almost all return home in the end.
The decision to head home is often a bitter sweet feeling even if you’ve completed your planned journey and achieved all your goals. As Paul Theroux noted in The Old Patagonian Express (Mariner Book/Houghton Mifflin, 1979), it is the end of that time anyhow, and with it a little piece of your life.
Travellers may return to the places they have visited, but either they, the other people or the place will have changed. Time stands still for no one.
Most travellers who’ve made the decision to return home will relate to Lynyrd Skynyrd's lyrics on Comin’ Home (Van Zant and Collins, 1977): ‘Its been so long since I’ve been gone, another day might be too long for me, traveling around I’ve had my fill, of broken dreams and dirty deals...I want to come home, its been so long since I’ve been away...'
The Lynyrd Skynyrd musicians and entourage will probably be looking forward to returning home for Christmas at the end of the months long 2009 tour.
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