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.

Hard Travelin
Arlo Guthrie Lyrics

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I've been havin' some hard travelin', I thought you know
I've been hittin' some hard travelin' way down the road
I've been havin' some hard travelin', hard ramblin', hard gamblin'
I've been havin' some hard travelin', Lord

Well I've been ridin' them fast rattlers, I thought you know
I've been ridin' them blind passengers way down the road
I've been ridin' them dead enders, flat wheelers, kickin' up cinders

I've been havin' some hard travelin', Lord

I've been hittin' some hard rock man and I thought you know
I've been leanin' on the pressured grill way down the road
Hammer flyin', air hose suckin'
Six feet of mud and a shovel muggin'
I've been havin' some hard travelin', Lord

Well I've been layin' in a hard rock jail I thought you know
I've been layin' there ninety days way down the road
And a mean old judge said to me it's ninety days for vagrancy
And I've been havin' some hard travelin' Lord

I've been workin' at Pittsburgh Steel I thought you know
I've been dumpin' that red hot slag way down the road
I've been blastin', I've been firin', I've been a pourin' that red hot iron
And I've been a havin' some hard travelin', Lord

I've been hittin' some hard harvest and I thought you know
North Dakota to Kansas City way down the road
Cuttin' that wheat and stackin' that hay
And tryin' to make 'bout a dollar a day
And I've been a havin' some hard travelin', Lord

Well I've been workin' on Lincoln Highway I thought you know
I've been hitchin' on 66 way down the road

Heavy load and worried mind lookin' for a woman that's hard to find
And I've been havin' some hard travelin', Lord

Overall Meaning

Arlo Guthrie's "Hard Travelin'" is a song about the struggles of a wandering worker who spends his days on trains, in jails, in factories, and on farms. The lyrics describe the hardships he has faced while traveling, from tough manual labor to unfair imprisonment for vagrancy. The song is a tribute to the strength and resilience of the working class who face adversity to make ends meet.

The first verse talks about the singer's hard rambling and gambling while traveling down the road. This could refer to him placing bets, gambling with his livelihood, and taking risks to make money. The second verse describes him riding on illegal and dangerous modes of transportation, such as hopping on fast-moving trains without permission. The third verse talks about his experiences working in the dangerous field of construction, his job at the Pittsburgh steel mill, and his experiences with manual labor, such as harvesting wheat and stacking hay.

The fourth verse discusses the singer's imprisonment for 90 days for vagrancy, which was a common charge for wandering workers who had nowhere else to go. The final two verses describe the singer's experience hitchhiking on highways and searching for work while carrying a heavy load and a worried mind, highlighting the struggles that working-class people have in finding steady employment.

Overall, "Hard Travelin'" is a powerful depiction of the difficult and precarious lives that travelling workers face. The song highlights the resilience and courage required to survive in such challenging circumstances.

Line by Line Meaning

I've been havin' some hard travelin', I thought you know
I've been going through some difficult times and experiences, and I assumed that you were aware of them.

I've been hittin' some hard travelin' way down the road
I've been facing challenges and obstacles on my journey for a long time.

I've been havin' some hard travelin', hard ramblin', hard gamblin'
I've been going through some tough times filled with traveling, wandering, and taking risks.

I've been havin' some hard travelin', Lord
I've been through a lot of difficult situations, and I'm seeking strength and guidance from a higher power.

Well I've been ridin' them fast rattlers, I thought you know
I've been taking trains that move fast, and I thought that you were aware of it.

I've been ridin' them blind passengers way down the road
I've been taking risks by traveling with strangers who might not have the best intentions.

I've been ridin' them dead enders, flat wheelers, kickin' up cinders
I've been traveling with people who are going nowhere and have broken-down trains that create dust clouds.

I've been havin' some hard travelin', Lord
I've been through a lot of difficult situations, and I'm seeking strength and guidance from a higher power.

I've been hittin' some hard rock man and I thought you know
I've been doing some difficult manual labor, and I thought that you were aware of it.

I've been leanin' on the pressured grill way down the road
I've been using a jackhammer on stone, and it's been putting a lot of pressure on my body and mind.

Hammer flyin', air hose suckin', Six feet of mud and a shovel muggin'
I've been working hard using a hammer and a pneumatic drill, dealing with muddy conditions, and digging with a shovel.

I've been havin' some hard travelin', Lord
I've been through a lot of difficult situations, and I'm seeking strength and guidance from a higher power.

Well I've been layin' in a hard rock jail I thought you know
I've been in jail for a long time because of my poverty and homelessness, and I thought that you were aware of it.

I've been layin' there ninety days way down the road
I've been locked up for three months in a row.

And a mean old judge said to me it's ninety days for vagrancy
The judge found me guilty of being homeless and wandering around with no means of support, and sentenced me to 90 days in jail.

And I've been havin' some hard travelin' Lord
I've been through a lot of difficult situations, and I'm seeking strength and guidance from a higher power.

I've been workin' at Pittsburgh Steel I thought you know
I've been working at a steel plant in Pittsburgh, and I thought that you were aware of it.

I've been dumpin' that red hot slag way down the road
I've been carrying and dumping the waste materials from the steel-making process, which is hot and heavy work.

I've been blastin', I've been firin', I've been a pourin' that red hot iron
I've been involved in the process of creating steel, using techniques like blasting, firing, and pouring molten iron.

And I've been a havin' some hard travelin', Lord
I've been through a lot of difficult situations, and I'm seeking strength and guidance from a higher power.

I've been hittin' some hard harvest and I thought you know
I've been working on farms during the harvest season, and I thought that you were aware of it.

North Dakota to Kansas City way down the road
I've been working on farms and traveling from North Dakota to Kansas City.

Cuttin' that wheat and stackin' that hay, And tryin' to make 'bout a dollar a day
I've been doing hard manual labor, cutting wheat and piling hay, and trying to earn a meager living.

And I've been a havin' some hard travelin', Lord
I've been through a lot of difficult situations, and I'm seeking strength and guidance from a higher power.

Well I've been workin' on Lincoln Highway I thought you know
I've been hitchhiking and walking on the Lincoln Highway, and I thought that you were aware of it.

I've been hitchin' on 66 way down the road
I've also been hitchhiking on Route 66.

Heavy load and worried mind lookin' for a woman that's hard to find
I'm carrying heavy baggage and stressing out about trying to find a woman I'm looking for, who's difficult to locate.

And I've been havin' some hard travelin', Lord
I've been through a lot of difficult situations, and I'm seeking strength and guidance from a higher power.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: WOODY GUTHRIE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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