Currently, the group comprises singer and harmonica player John Popper, guitarist Chan Kinchla, drummer Brendan Hill, bassist Tad Kinchla and keyboardist Ben Wilson. Tad Kinchla and Ben Wilson joined the band following the death of original bassist Bobby Sheehan in 1999.
While Blues Traveler is best known among fans for their improvisational live shows, the general public is most familiar with the group from their Top 40 singles "Run-Around" and "Hook". They gained mainstream popularity after their fourth studio album four, released in 1994. Sheehan's death and Popper's struggle with obesity put a damper on the group's success, and A&M dropped the band in 2002.
Go
Blues Traveler Lyrics
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You know its been so long since I've seen my floor
It's getting kind of scary in fact I suspect
That when I finally clear away I won't know her anymore
How we'll have grown so far apart
From those early days with the fresh new start
So in the end it won't matter at all
So why should I bother with the rise and the fall
And watch TV
But these are the things we tell ourselves
Eventual stories designed to amuse
It's a game we play and we play it well
In fact we're so damn good that we try to lose
So we can keep hiding
So we can survive
And keep on believing
Someday we'll go outside & drive
Gonna go outside & drive...
I have resolved not to leave my house
Till my floor comes back and my room is clean
So I'm really kind of glad that my TV's here
While I concoct my plan to fulfill my dream
Now won't that be wonderful when I'll finally be done
I just can't wait for it then I'll start to have fun
It's getting hard lately to concentrate
All my appointments cancelled cause I'm horribly late
You know I think I need a prison
In order to dream of being free
But these are the things we tell ourselves
Eventual stories designed to amuse
It's a game we play and we play it well
In fact we're so damn good that we try to lose
So we can keep hiding
So we can survive
And keep on believing
Someday we'll go outside & drive
The above lyrics are from the song “Go” by Blues Traveler, and it speaks to the idea of procrastination and the reasons why people sometimes choose to avoid their problems. The singer talks about the mess in their room, and how they've put it off for so long that it's become an insurmountable task. They worry that they won’t recognize their own room once they clean it up, and that all the time they've spent avoiding their mess has allowed them to grow distant from their space. Despite this, they continue to avoid the problem, instead choosing to lay down and watch TV.
The second verse delves deeper into the idea of avoiding problems. The singer says that they've resolved not to leave their house until their room is clean, and they're glad to have their TV to keep them company. They've become so consumed with the task at hand that they've lost sight of the outside world, and their appointments and responsibilities have fallen by the wayside. They even joke that they need a prison to dream of being free, which speaks to the idea that sometimes we create our own barriers to keep ourselves “safe.”
Overall, the song “Go” is essentially about the ways we deceive ourselves, and the lies we tell in order to avoid the difficult things in life. The singer is fully aware that they're procrastinating, but they continue to do so anyway, because it’s easier in the short term.
Line by Line Meaning
I really have to clean up my room
I have been putting off cleaning my room for a long time and it has reached a point where it's scary.
You know its been so long since I've seen my floor
My room is so messy that I can't see the floor anymore.
It's getting kind of scary in fact I suspect
The messy state of my room is starting to concern me and I have a feeling that it's not good for me.
That when I finally clear away I won't know her anymore
Once I finally clean my room, it will be so different that I might not even recognize it anymore.
How we'll have grown so far apart
My room and I have grown so distant from each other due to the mess.
From those early days with the fresh new start
My room was great when I first started using it, but now it's in shambles.
So in the end it won't matter at all
In the grand scheme of things, the state of my room won't make a significant difference.
So why should I bother with the rise and the fall
I wonder why I should even bother trying to fix the room when the results won't be substantial.
So I quietly lay back down
I decide to lie down and not do anything about my messy room.
And watch TV
I resort to watching TV to avoid having to deal with my responsibilities.
But these are the things we tell ourselves
I tell myself stories that might not necessarily be true, just to make myself feel better.
Eventual stories designed to amuse
The stories I tell myself are meant to entertain me, but they don't necessarily reflect reality.
It's a game we play and we play it well
We're good at pretending that everything is fine when it's not.
In fact we're so damn good that we try to lose
We're so used to hiding from our problems that it feels natural to keep doing it, even though it's not good for us.
So we can keep hiding
We hide from the challenges of life to remain within our comfort zones.
So we can survive
We continue to hide to avoid being overwhelmed by our problems.
And keep on believing
We try to convince ourselves that everything will be okay in the end.
Someday we'll go outside & drive
We hope that one day we will have the courage to face our problems and take control of our lives.
Gonna go outside & drive...
We'll take action and start living life on our own terms.
I have resolved not to leave my house
I decide to stay indoors until my room is clean and presentable.
Till my floor comes back and my room is clean
I won't go out until my room is in order and my floor is visible again.
So I'm really kind of glad that my TV's here
I'm grateful to have my TV as a means of entertainment while I work on cleaning my room.
While I concoct my plan to fulfill my dream
While I'm cleaning my room, I also think of a plan to achieve my lifelong goals.
Now won't that be wonderful when I'll finally be done
It will be great when my room is clean and I can move on to other things.
I just can't wait for it then I'll start to have fun
I look forward to being done with cleaning so that I can finally start enjoying myself.
It's getting hard lately to concentrate
My room has become so chaotic that it's hard to focus on anything else.
All my appointments cancelled cause I'm horribly late
I've been so distracted by my messy room that I've missed important meetings and events.
You know I think I need a prison
I feel trapped by my cluttered room and wish I could escape it.
In order to dream of being free
I daydream of being free from the chaos of my room and living a simple, orderly life.
Contributed by Carson Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.