On The Road
Angus Stone Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Hit up the bottle
Scored us the finest herb
Jumped aboard that rolling stone
Took to the sky like a bird
Now the wheels are in full spin
We're off to play a thousand shows
Took a drag, fell in a dream
Took to the sky like a crow

She don't like it when I'm on the road
She don't like it when I'm on the road
She don't like it when I'm on the road
She don't like it when I'm on the road

Turn up the radio
Play 'A Horse With No Name'
Ten miles to the show
We're running late in a running late game
That road can burn through your heart
Make you forget what you're doin' it for
But I'll keep walking through the dark
I'll keep knowing at that door, yes I will

She don't like it when I'm on the road
She don't like it when I'm on the road




She don't like it when I'm on the road
She don't like it when I'm on the road

Overall Meaning

The song "On The Road" by Angus Stone is a reflective piece on the life of a traveling musician. The lyrics describe how Angus and his bandmates hit up the bottle and scored the finest herb before jumping on the rolling stone to take to the sky like a bird. The wheels are in full spin, they're off to play a thousand shows, and after taking a drag, they fell into a dream and took to the sky like a crow.


Despite the excitement of being on the road, Angus notes that his girlfriend doesn't like it when he's away, and he feels the toll of the constant travel on his heart. The road can burn through your heart and make you forget what you're doing it for, but Angus is determined to keep walking through the dark and knocking at the door.


The song captures the duality of the life of a musician, the exhilaration of being on the road and performing in front of audiences, and the loneliness and strain of being away from loved ones. The reference to the song "A Horse With No Name" and the urgency of being late for a show further emphasize the frenetic pace of life on tour.


Line by Line Meaning

Hit up the bottle
We drank alcohol to deal with being on the road


Scored us the finest herb
We obtained the best weed available to help us cope with the demands of touring


Jumped aboard that rolling stone
We embarked on our journey, symbolized by a metaphorical rolling stone


Took to the sky like a bird
We felt a sense of freedom and liberation as we began our travels


Now the wheels are in full spin
We are fully committed to our touring schedule


We're off to play a thousand shows
We have many gigs to perform throughout our tour


Took a drag, fell in a dream
We smoked marijuana and entered a state of relaxation and tranquility


Took to the sky like a crow
We once again experienced a sense of freedom and carefree abandon, but this time symbolized by a crow


She don't like it when I'm on the road
Our loved one is unhappy when we are constantly away from home


Turn up the radio
We try to lift our spirits by listening to music


Play 'A Horse With No Name'
We listen to a specific song, likely one that evokes a sense of nostalgia or comfort


Ten miles to the show
We are running late and only have a short distance to travel before performing


We're running late in a running late game
We are accustomed to the stress and pressure of always running late for our shows


That road can burn through your heart
Touring can be emotionally draining and take a toll on our mental well-being


Make you forget what you're doin' it for
The stress of touring can cause us to lose sight of why we pursued this career path in the first place


But I'll keep walking through the dark
Despite the challenges, we will persevere


I'll keep knowing at that door, yes I will
We will continue to pursue our goals and dreams, despite the obstacles we face




Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANGUS STONE, JULIA STONE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@beblessedwithlove

~ Hit up the bottlo
Scored us the finest herb
Jumped aboard that rolling stone
Took to the sky like a bird
Now the wheels are in full spin
We're off to play a thousand shows
Took a drag, fell in a dream
Took to the sky like a crow

She don't like it when I'm on the road
She don't like it when I'm on the road
She don't like it when I'm on the road
She don't like it when I'm on the road

Turn up the radio
Play "A Horse With No Name"
Ten miles to the show
We're running late in a running late game
That road can burn through your heart
Make you forget what you're doin' it for
But I'll keep walking through the dark
I'll keep knocking at that door, yes I will

She don't like it when I'm on the road
She don't like it when I'm on the road
She don't like it when I'm on the road
She don't like it when I'm on the road



@nicholasshaw7508

Sharon Lee ....Your Nick made this Nick share this with you❤

The quality of our dreams are both a reflection of our thoughts and actions as well as a general foreshadowing of the fate of our souls in the next life...A nightly, temporary karma that beckons us to change - for the good - so as to avoid a more permanent karma...

Complexity(🌎)+Beauty(🌷)
=Intent(❤️)

The Figure 8 Analogy: 

An analogy on life, death, the dream-state and the symbolism intertwined within the human experience...

We human beings are not moving in the - abstract - motion of a straight line towards death (for instance, the numerical straight line of say 1-89), rather we are moving in the motion of a figure 8...The Figure 8 is a natural repeating pattern that is divided into two halves and is thus the perfect symbol to represent the human life cycle and our two primary states of existence that we are continuously moving in and out of -the awake state and the dream-state.

When we awake from sleep, we come full circle to when we fall back asleep (represented by the bottom half of the figure 8), and when we go into the dream-state, we come full circle to when we awake from the dream-state (represented by the top half of the figure 8). Upon death, the figure 8 of life untwines, but it is not the body untwining from the mind that this analogy represents. It's two states of mind untwining to form a larger state of mind...(8->0)...Because the awake state is really a state -of mind, with our body's physical reality "consciously" intertwined, and the dream-state is also a state -of mind, with our body's physical reality "subconsciously" intertwined. Therefore; upon death, these two states "of mind" untwine to form a larger state of mind...A state that has all the potentialities of the dream world (flying, telepathy, psychokinesis, etc) combined with all the actualities of the awake world(nature, form, bonds, etc). This I refer to as the "transitional analogy."

While conceiving this analogy I realized life and death must be perceived - from one point of view - as seperate entities(the transitional analogy(8-0), but must also be perceived - from another point of view - as inseparable entities(the symbolic analogy), both of which are ultimately linked by the dream state.

The symbolic analogy consists of the untwined figure 8 of life/the 'circle of death' - abstractly -overlapping the 'circle of life'/the earth, with the overlappment representing the dream-state (like the common area in a venn diagram) which implies that the dream-state is just as much a part of life as is of death - by which semi-explains precognitive dreams, prodromal dreams, "visitations" by deceased relatives, etc, for the dream-state has a foothold in the afterlife - and is based on the premise that "while our body sleeps, our dream-state symbolically represents the state that awaits upon our body's ultimate rest.

In other words, while we are lying down and -sleeping/dreaming, this natural process symbolizes where we go when we're ultimately lying down/dead -to a place "like" our dream-state...A state "of mind", with our body's physical bonds eternally engrained and intertwined. 

                      👁~8~👁



All comments from YouTube:

@Hustlerae

these guys are why i love australia!

@supersarah2704

L'une de leur meilleure chanson! Ils continuent à me surprendre...

@leahrmusic

JULIA AND ANGUS STONE ARE AMAAAZING.

@louzoo1

very beautiful melody and harmonising as usual <3 your work!

@aline7387

Oooooo, eu sempre quis achar algum comentário muito antigo, só pra ver se por algum motivo a pessoa ainda usava o YouTube, ou se ela já era idosa, ou se ela já trabalhava ou sla

@jackgrovey

totally awsome - my new favourite artist

@inesnavyblue1290

Legend ;)

@mistafab9405

Love a bit of banjo..great music

@shushisha

so good

@terryhollas4830

Starts off like "I'm Your Captain", Grand Funk

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