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.

Walking Song
Arlo Guthrie Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Words and music by Leah Kunkel

Oh, last night I sat by your side
Oh, I was feelin' so lonely
Would have given up my pride
All night I was so lonely

Then you took to the streets

You don't have much to say
But I listened to your feet
As they walked away
Bye bye bye bye

Now walking's the only thing I know
Oh we do well together
I ain't thinkin' 'bout where we go
Lace up your boots of leather

Then we take to the streets
We don't have much to say
But I listen to our feet
As we walk away
Bye bye bye...

I wasn't lookin' for love
I'm a little sorry you're gore
But until we have something to say
L'll just keep walking along
Bye bye bye...

Ask me if I need you now
Oh no I'm feeling great
If you hunt me in my dreams
Ah there is one escape

I'll just take to the streets
I won't have much to say
But I'll be listening to my feet

As they walk away
Bye bye bye...

Overall Meaning

The first verse of Arlo Guthrie's "Walking Song" speaks to the feelings of emptiness and loneliness associated with a breakup. The singer feels devoid of purpose or direction and appears to be wrestling with his sense of pride. However, in the second verse, the song shifts from a lover's lament to a kind of anthem for walking itself. The singer declares that walking is now the only thing he knows, and that he and his boots are "doing well together." While he seems to have no particular destination in mind, the act of walking itself is enough.

The last verse brings the song full circle. The singer indicates that he wasn't looking for love in the first place, and that he's "a little sorry" that it ended that way. However, he remains content to continue walking, even if it means being alone. As he states in the closing line, "I'll just take to the streets / I won't have much to say / But I'll be listening to my feet / As they walk away." This final verse seems to affirm the power of walking as a source of personal agency and resilience, even in the face of heartbreak.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh, last night I sat by your side
The singer was sitting next to their love interest the previous night.

Oh, I was feelin' so lonely
The singer was feeling very lonely while next to their love interest.

Would have given up my pride
The singer was willing to sacrifice their pride to be with their love interest.

All night I was so lonely
The artist was lonely for the entire night.

Then you took to the streets
The love interest left and started walking on the streets.

You don't have much to say
The love interest is not very talkative.

But I listened to your feet
The singer paid attention to the sound of the love interest's feet as they walked away.

As they walked away
The love interest was leaving the artist.

Bye bye bye bye
The love interest said goodbye multiple times.

Now walking's the only thing I know
The artist has resorted to walking as their only activity.

Oh we do well together
Walking is something that the singer and their love interest do well together.

I ain't thinkin' 'bout where we go
The artist is not concerned with where their walk is taking them.

Lace up your boots of leather
The singer is telling their love interest to put on their boots.

We don't have much to say
The singer and their love interest do not have much to talk about.

But I listen to our feet
The singer is paying attention to the sound of their own and their love interest's footsteps.

I wasn't lookin' for love
The artist was not actively searching for love.

I'm a little sorry you're gone
The artist is slightly remorseful that their love interest left.

But until we have something to say
The singer will continue walking until they have something to talk about with their love interest.

L'll just keep walking along
The singer will continue walking alone.

Ask me if I need you now
The artist does not need their love interest now.

Oh no I'm feeling great
The artist is feeling good.

If you hunt me in my dreams
The artist is saying that if their love interest appears in their dreams that will be the only time they will be together.

Ah there is one escape
The singer can only be with their love interest in their dreams.

I'll just take to the streets
The artist will continue to walk on the streets.

I won't have much to say
The singer will not have much to talk about.

But I'll be listening to my feet
The singer will still pay attention to the sound of their own feet as they walk.

As they walk away
The singer and their love interest are walking away from something or someone.

Bye bye bye...
The artist says goodbye again.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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