Homeward Bound
Cher Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Got a ticket to my destination
On a tour of one-night stands
My suitcase and guitar in hand
And every stop is neatly planned
For a poet and a one-man band
Homeward bound
Homeward bound
Home where my thought's escapin'
Home where my music's playin'
Home where my love lies waitin'
Silently for me
Every day's an endless stream
Of cigarettes and magazines
And each town looks the same to me
The movies and the factories
And every stranger's face I see
Reminds me that I long to be
Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home where my thought's escapin'
Home where my music's playin'
Home where my love lies waitin'
Silently for me
Tonight I'll sing my songs again
I'll play the game and pretend
But all my words come back to me
In shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness in harmony
I need someone to comfort me
Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home where my thought's escapin'
Home where my music's playin'
Home where my love lies waitin'
Silently for me
Silently for me
Cher's rendition of Homeward Bound by Simon & Garfunkel was released in 1966 as a part of her debut album "All I Really Want to Do". The song speaks of the yearning for home, the desire to escape the monotony of life on the road and to return to the place where one's heart and love reside. The singer is a touring musician who is traveling from town to town with a suitcase and a guitar, living a life of one-night stands, cigarettes, and magazines. Each stop is "neatly planned," but the singer's true desire is to be homeward bound to a place where his thoughts can escape, where his music can play, and where his love is waiting silently for him.
The lyrics beautifully capture the emotions of a performer who is struggling to find contentment away from home. Despite the glamour and excitement of the music industry, the singer is longing for a sense of belonging that only home can provide. The monotony of life on the road and the emptiness of performing only worsen the desire to be homeward bound. This theme is relatable not only for musicians but for anyone whose work demands frequent travel or sacrifice of personal life. The final lines of the song leave a poignant, lasting impression on the listener, as we all come back to the feeling of needing someone to comfort us, a safe haven to return to:
"But all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness in harmony I need someone to comfort me.
Homeward bound,
I wish I was,
Homeward bound,
Home where my thought's escaping,
Home where my music's playing,
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me."
Line by Line Meaning
I'm sitting in the railway station.
Cher is sitting in the railway station waiting for her train.
Got a ticket to my destination.
Cher has a valid ticket to reach her destination.
On a tour of one-night stands my suitcase and guitar in hand.
Cher is on a tour of different places where she is performing for one night each, and she carries a suitcase and a guitar with her.
And ev'ry stop is neatly planned for a poet and a one-man band.
Cher has planned every stop of her tour intelligently, as she is a poet and a one-man band.
Homeward bound,
Cher really wants to go back to her home.
I wish I was,
Cher desires to be back home.
Home where my thought's escaping,
Cher's home empowers her to escape her thoughts.
Home where my music's playing,
Cher's home is where she hears the music she wants to listen to.
Home where my love lies waiting Silently for me.
Cher's home is where her love is waiting for her, and she wants to reach there as soon as possible and quietly.
Ev'ry day's an endless stream
For Cher, every day seems like an infinite stream.
Of cigarettes and magazines.
Cher sees cigarettes and magazines everywhere she goes.
And each town looks the same to me, the movies and the factories.
Cher feels that every town she visits seems the same in terms of people and things seen, like the movies and the factories.
And ev'ry stranger's face I see reminds me that I long to be,
Whenever Cher sees a stranger's face, she is reminded that she wants to be home.
Tonight I'll sing my songs again,
Cher is going to perform her songs again tonight.
I'll play the game and pretend.
Even though Cher is upset, she has to perform without showing how she feels.
But all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity.
Cher thinks that her words are not as great as they should be.
Like emptiness in harmony I need someone to comfort me.
Cher is feeling empty even when she is surrounded by music; it seems as if she needs someone to comfort her.
Silently for me.
Cher wants to reach home quietly where her love is waiting for her.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Paul Simon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind