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Lonesome Town
Ricky Nelson Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

There's a place where lovers go
To cry their troubles away
And they call it lonesome town
Where the broken hearts stay (lonesome town)
You can buy a dream or two
To last you all through the years
And the only price you pay
Is a heartful of tears (full of tears)

Goin' down to lonesome town
Where the broken hearts stay
Goin' down to lonesome town
To cry my troubles away
In the town of broken dreams
The streets are filled with regret
Maybe down in lonesome town
I can learn to forget (to forget)

Maybe down in lonesome town
I can learn to forget

(Lonesome town)

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Ricky Nelson's "Lonesome Town" describe a place where heartbroken lovers go to cry their troubles away, called Lonesome Town. The town is a place of regret and broken dreams, where one can buy a dream to last for years but at the cost of a heartful of tears. In the chorus, the singer expresses his intention to go down to Lonesome Town to cry his own troubles away and hopefully learn to forget.


The song evokes a feeling of loneliness and desperation, with its slow tempo and melancholic tone. It speaks to the universal experience of heartbreak and the search for solace, highlighting the idea that sometimes the only way to heal is to allow oneself to fully feel and process the pain. The lyrics also touch upon the idea of wanting to escape from reality and find a temporary refuge in a place where one can forget for a moment.


Overall, "Lonesome Town" is a powerful and emotional song that explores the complexities of love and loss. Its timeless message continues to resonate with listeners today, making it a classic piece of music that will always be remembered.


Line by Line Meaning

There's a place where lovers go
In this world, there's a place where brokenhearted people go, a place where their love ends.


To cry their troubles away
They go there to shed tears and relieve themselves of the pain they feel.


And they call it lonesome town
This place is famous for its loneliness and the solitude that surrounds it.


Where the broken hearts stay (lonesome town)
This place is where people with broken hearts spend their lives, never able to repair the love lost.


You can buy a dream or two
People visit this place and deceive themselves by buying some dream or illusion that will last forever.


To last you all through the years
These dreams are set for a lifetime, so people can relive the moments of happiness again and again, never coming out of the trauma.


And the only price you pay
The only cost people pay for this temporary happiness is to leave behind a broken heart.


Is a heartful of tears (full of tears)
People spend their time crying in Lonesome town, memories of what they have lost weighing heavily on their minds.


Goin' down to lonesome town
The artist is on his way to this place where people come to heal their broken hearts.


Where the broken hearts stay
This is a place where the artist hopes to develop the strength to move on.


Goin' down to lonesome town
The singer is going to the place where he can let his tears fall and work towards moving on from the broken heart.


To cry my troubles away
The artist hopes that by crying and grieving his broken heart, he can start to heal from the pain.


In the town of broken dreams
Lonesome town is where the dreams and aspirations of people have been crushed, and only the pain remains.


The streets are filled with regret
The singer sees the streets of Lonesome town filled with people who feel remorse for the love they have lost.


Maybe down in lonesome town
The singer has a hope that this town can be a turning point in his life.


I can learn to forget (to forget)
The artist wants to stop clinging to the past and learn to let go of what he has lost by being in Lonesome town.




Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Thomas Baker Knight

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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