Arlo Guthrie (born 10th July 1947, Brooklyn, New York ) is an American folk… Read Full Bio ↴Arlo Guthrie (born 10th July 1947, Brooklyn, New York ) is an American folk singer who is the son of folk singer and composer Woody Guthrie and his wife Marjorie Mazia Guthrie, a one-time professional dancer with the Martha Graham Company and founder of The Committee to Combat Huntington's Disease. He graduated from the Stockbridge School of Massachusetts in 1965, and briefly attended Rocky Mountain College.

His most famous work is Alice's Restaurant, a talking blues song that lasts eighteen minutes and twenty seconds (in its original recorded version; Guthrie has been known to spin the story out to forty-five minutes in concert). The song, a bitingly satirical protest against the Vietnam War draft, is based on a true incident. In the song, Guthrie was called up for a draft examination, and rejected as unfit for military service as a result of a criminal record consisting in its entirety of a single arrest, court appearance, fine and clean-up order for littering. In reality, Guthrie, though a carrier of the genetically inherited disease Huntington's chorea, was classified as fit (1A); however, his draft-lottery number did not come up.

Gabriel's Mother's Highway Ballad #16
Arlo Guthrie Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Woke up this morning with my head in my hand
Come on, children, come on
The snow was falling all over the land
Come on, children, come on

I don't know but I've been told
Come on, children, come on
That the streets of heaven have all been sold

Come on, children, come on

[Chorus]
Come on, children, all come home
Jesus gonna make you well
Come on, people, now its time to go
Go to where a man can dwell

Well the sun come up while I wrote this song
Come on, children, come on
To remind me well that it won't be long
Come on children come on

[Chorus]

Come on, Gabriel, blow that thing
Come on, children come on
All God's children got to dance and sing
Come on, children come on

All God's children got to sing and shout
Come on, children, come on
There ain't nobody 'round bound to kick you out
Come on, children, come on

One of these days we'll all be there
Come on, children, come on
Seeing those wheels way up in the air
Come on, children, come on

Come on everybody now what's it worth
Come on, children, come on
To make a heaven out of this earth
Come on, children, come on

[Chorus]

Noah goin' to make you well
Moses gonna make you well
You know even Daniel's gonna make you well

Jesus gonna make you well
Mm, mm, gonna make you well

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Arlo Guthrie's song Gabriel's Mother's Hiway Ballad talk about a spiritual journey towards redemption and salvation. The first verse describes waking up in the morning with the snow falling over the land, which is the metaphor for the world being covered in spiritual darkness. The repeated phrase "Come on, children, come on" is an invitation to join the journey towards salvation. The question "I don't know but I've been told" is a classic call-and-response technique commonly used in spirituals and folk songs, and leads to the revelation that the streets of heaven have all been sold, implying that the journey to salvation is an exclusive and difficult one.

The chorus, which also repeats several times throughout the song, is a call to come home to Christ, who will make you well. The second verse talks about the sun coming up while the singer is writing the song, and how it reminds him that the journey to salvation won't be long. The third verse is a call to "Gabriel" to blow his horn, which traditionally signals the end of the world and the coming of judgment day. The verse also talks about the joy of dancing and singing, and how there is nobody around to kick you out - this is a reference to the idea that in heaven, everyone is accepted and no one is rejected.

Line by Line Meaning

Woke up this morning with my head in my hand
I woke up feeling overwhelmed and lost

Come on, children, come on
Let's go, everyone join in

The snow was falling all over the land
It was a cold, wintry day

I don't know but I've been told
I'm not sure if it's true, but I've heard

That the streets of heaven have all been sold
Heaven is crowded

[Chorus]
Refrain: everyone come together and be saved

Well the sun come up while I wrote this song
Time has passed while I've been writing

To remind me well that it won't be long
To remind me that time is fleeting

Come on, Gabriel, blow that thing
Get ready for the trumpet of Gabriel to signal the end times

All God's children got to dance and sing
Let's celebrate and have joy

There ain't nobody 'round bound to kick you out
There's no one who can exclude you

One of these days we'll all be there
Someday we'll reach the afterlife

Seeing those wheels way up in the air
Seeing the chariot of fire that will bring us to heaven

Come on everybody now what's it worth
Let's think about what it means to create a better world

To make a heaven out of this earth
To make life on earth feel like heaven

Noah goin' to make you well Moses gonna make you well You know even Daniel's gonna make you well Jesus gonna make you well Mm, mm, gonna make you well
Religious figures will heal you and bring you spiritual salvation

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, THE BICYCLE MUSIC COMPANY
Written by: ARLO GUTHRIE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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