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.

John Looked Down
Arlo Guthrie Lyrics

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[CHORUS:]
Lying on the side of the road
Feeling like he heard a sound
Shivered with the feelin' that he knowed
John looked down, John looked down
John looked down the long, long road

She gave John a present that was fine

So fine that he had to go
Went to see what it was that he knowed
John looked down, John looked down
John looked down the long, long road

And I know it's hard
But what did you expect of her?
John looked down

If you see the lady in your mind
Even in her nothingness
Standing through the darkest night
And the people want to fight
But first ask if it's all right
John looked down, John looked down
John looked down the long, long road

[CHORUS]
And I know it's hard

But what did you expect of her?
John looked down

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Arlo Guthrie's song "John Looked Down" tell the story of a man named John who is lying on the side of the road and feeling like he heard a sound. He shivers with the feeling that he knows something important. John had received a fine present from a woman which was important enough for him to leave and figure out what it was. As John walks along the long, long road, he sees a woman in his mind who is standing through the darkest night. The people around him want to fight but before they do, they should ask if it's alright. The chorus repeats the line "John looked down the long, long road" emphasizing the continued journey that John is on. The song ends with the repeated line, "And I know it's hard but what did you expect of her?" seemingly directed at John but also delivering a broader message about expectations and relationships.

The song's lyrics are open to interpretation, and one could argue that John's journey reflects the human longing for a deeper understanding of oneself and the world around us. The image of the woman in the darkness also brings up themes of hope and perseverance in the face of hardship. Overall the song's poetic storytelling style and philosophical undertones make it a thought-provoking piece.

Line by Line Meaning

CHORUS: Lying on the side of the road
John was lying on the ground by the road

Feeling like he heard a sound
John heard a noise and felt uneasy

Shivered with the feelin' that he knowed
John had a bad feeling about something

John looked down, John looked down
John looked down at the ground

John looked down the long, long road
John looked down the road to see if he could spot anything worrisome

She gave John a present that was fine
A woman gave John a nice gift

So fine that he had to go
The gift was so nice that John felt compelled to investigate further

Went to see what it was that he knowed
John wanted to find out more about the gift

If you see the lady in your mind
If you imagine the woman

Even in her nothingness
Even if she seems insignificant

Standing through the darkest night
She's strong, even in tough times