Will someone tell me if the song "Last to leave" is about being on the road, coming home or leaving? Can someone tell me a little about the song?Thanks

I always thought it was about being the last to leave the planet !

I vaguely remember him having some songs that, to me, seemed to be about death around that time... Highway in the Wind, Last Train, or maybe it's just me?

Edited to say, "ooops, not Highway in the Wind. I'm Going Home from the same album."

Last to Leave
By Arlo Guthrie

Lonely sunshine days come easy
spend my time alone at rest
and if I were the last to leave here
would these roads be any less

Were I the last to leave
would these ribbon highway roads
be less wonderful to weave
why must I always be so slow

There's many friends that come and go
you know there's a lot of feelings that I've left behind
and it's a lonely world I know
when your friends are hard to find.

But I'll take the time my memory failed
and soak my eyes in the morning rain
like a sailor sailing over Jordan
on the road back home again

Were I the last to leave
would these ribbon highway roads
be less wonderful to weave
why must I always be so slow

I feel this is a song about fear of relationships due to a painful loss (Woody).

The road represents his own solitary life experiences.

His question - And if I were the last to leave here,
now would these roads be any less? Why must I always be so slow?

To me this represents his regret of the affect of his own fame, and losing his father has on his ability to open up and get to know if people. To know if they are genuine, to understand if they truly care about him, or are only starstruck.

This begs the question will I be better off if I take a leap of faith at the risk of suffering the painful loss I felt before?

The joy of love and the loss of his father is summed up in...

But I'll take the time my memory failed
and soak my eyes in the morning rain
like a sailor sailing over Jordan
on the road back home again.

Only my opinion, thanks for the oportunity to share it. I love lyrics.

Understanding what the author was feeling while writing a song is not always possible. Sometimes the writer wants you to know what the song is about and sometimes it is left open to interpretation and personalization.

Often writers purposefully create songs that may conjure different meanings to different people allowing a variety of reasons for a personal connection to this same song.

Doug

Right !! Like when the reporter in "Don't Look Back" asked Bob Dylan what his songs were about and he said "I don't know, what do you think they're about".

Last to leave,...what an awesome and heartfelt song !!. Dig the melting people story from the Wolftrap Show related to the origin of Highway in The Wind (available through the live shows tab).

Inspiration move me brightly !

"Last to Leave" always brings to mind a dear-to-me aunt who outlived her entire generation of relatives and lifelong friends. She made friends at the retirement center, and we did our best to fill in the gaps, but it was not the same, and often her eyes were looking forward to the time she would rejoin them. I think the best we did for her was ask questions that took her into reminiscing about her life with them. And through that, we learned that her life was richer and more varied than we ever knew before.

A few weeks ago I learned my young cousin has metastatic melanoma. She and her husband have three children. The third was born last week 3lb, 9oz Landry Mearl was brought early so Skyes' treatment could begin.

I have struggled to understand this from both a physical and spirtual perspective. Her doctors gave her six months to live...I'd give her more if I could. Yesterday my wife found a report published in the April 20 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology about a clinical study of Gleevec. This product has forced metastatic melanoma into remission for the first time.

In my varied searches for answers I found a quote from a man way ahead of his time, who knew what your Aunt knew. Five hundred years ago he said, "As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death."

We all share the fact that our days on earth will end. We can reach greater fulfillment at that end, through a life well spent.

Thanks, DRR, for understanding what my Aunt Jackie helped me learn. And vibes are going to your young cousin and her family, that they can all rejoice in what they have and will be able to look back, still rejoicing. At the same time, tears for them. It's not fair, life isn't.

Prayers & vibes just sent for your cousin...

Bless you both.

Blundervibes from here.

And here...

Thank you so much.

My cousin has started a web site. Her treatment will begin soon.

You can visit at this link...

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/landrydurant

If you have time visit her web site. And if you want to send her some electronic love, it is pretty easy to register and send your love in her guest book.

caring bridge is such a gift...my friend who had a heart transplant posted there and it was a wonderful experience... her son had a book published with all the posts and his own thoughts through her long recuperation....it's so beautiful...
and your neice!
what a beautiful child!!...so much for a tiny baby... but you can see how strong she is...and how much love is around her in your family....

i signed up to post and will later when i get my p/w....
caring bridge means so much to families struggling in the isolation of the hospital...

thanks for sharing, DRR...