Brooks was a phenomenal musical force in the 1990s. He had his chart breakthrough in 1989, having come apparently from nowhere, and was an immediate commercial success. Lacking the tall and lanky physical appearance typical of some male country stars, he successfully integrated pop and rock elements into his recordings and live performances. He soon began to dominate the country singles and country albums charts and quickly crossed over into the mainstream pop arena, selling records like no one else in country music ever had and exposing country music to a larger audience than previously thought possible.
Brooks enjoyed one of the most successful careers in popular music history, with over 70 hit singles and 15 charted albums to his credit and over 115 million albums sold in the US alone, breaking records for both sales and concert attendance throughout the 1990s. Possibly dissatisfied and looking to expand his career boundaries, he then attempted an artistically ambitious (but uncompleted) multimedia project involving a fictitious alter ego.
Troubled by the conflicts between career and family, the year after the decade ended Garth Brooks announced his retirement from recording and performing, thereby disappearing from the music world as suddenly as he had come.
Recently he has announced his return to live performances by agreeing to a 5 year 15 show a year contract in Vegas. His plan is to finish this contract, write some new stuff, and wait for his youngest daughter to go off to school, and then he plans to return to touring with his wife.
Night Rider
Garth Brooks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The graveyard shift, midnight till dawn
The moon was bright, as a readin' light
With a letter from an old friend back home
And he asked me, "Why do you ride for your money? Tell me, why do you rope for short pay?
You ain't a gettin' nowhere and you're losin' your share.
Boy, you must have gone crazy out there."
He said, "Last night, I ran on to Jenny. She's married and she has a good life.
Boy, you sure missed the track, when you never came back.
She's the perfect professional's wife.
And she asked me, 'Why does he ride for his money? Tell me, why does he rope for short pay?
He ain't a gettin' nowhere, and he's losin' his share.
Boy, he must have gone crazy out there.' "
Ah, but they've never seen the Northern Lights
They've never seen a hawk on the wing
They've never spent spring at the Great Divide
And they've never heard ole Camp Cookie sing
So I read up the last of my letter
And I tore off the stamp for Black Jim
And when Billy rode up to relieve me
He just looked at my letter and he grinned
And he said, "Now why do they ride for their money? Tell me, why do they ride for short pay?
They ain't a gettin' nowhere and they're losin' their share
Boy, they must have gone crazy out there
Son, they all must be crazy out there."
The lyrics to Garth Brooks's song Night Rider's Lament depict a conversation between the singer and his old friend. The singer is out riding the graveyard shift in search of work, and the moon is shining bright. He receives a letter from his old friend back home who asks, "why are you riding for your money?" and "why do you rope for short pay?" His friend believes that the singer is crazy for living such a life. He mentions Jenny, who has married and has a good life, implying that the singer should have taken a different path. But the singer defends his lifestyle, stating that those who haven't seen the Northern Lights, a hawk on the wing, or spent spring at the Great Divide are missing out on life's greatest pleasures.
The singer reads the last of the letter and tears off the stamp for Black Jim, indicating that he is replying to his friend. Billy, who is taking over the shift, reads the letter and grins. He too questions why people ride for their money, and why they rope for short pay. He says that the singer's friend and Jenny are right about the potential hardships of this lifestyle. The song ultimately embodies the conflict of wanting to live a life outside of societal norms and expectations, while also acknowledging the toll it takes.
Line by Line Meaning
One night when I was out ridin'
One night, while I was on horseback.
The graveyard shift, midnight till dawn
Working late at night until morning.
The moon was bright, as a readin' light
The moon was shining as bright as a reading lamp.
With a letter from an old friend back home
With a letter from a friend who used to live back home.
And he asked me, "Why do you ride for your money? Tell me, why do you rope for short pay?
He asked me, 'Why do you work so hard for so little money?'
You ain't a gettin' nowhere and you're losin' your share.
You're not making any progress and you're losing money in the process.
Boy, you must have gone crazy out there."
You must have lost your mind to work so hard for so little payoff.
He said, "Last night, I ran on to Jenny. She's married and she has a good life.
He said, 'Last night, I saw Jenny. She's married now and has a good life.'
Boy, you sure missed the track, when you never came back.
You missed out on life's opportunities when you didn't return home.
She's the perfect professional's wife.
She's the ideal wife for a professional.
And she asked me, 'Why does he ride for his money? Tell me, why does he rope for short pay?
She asked me, 'Why does he work so hard for so little payoff?'
He ain't a gettin' nowhere, and he's losin' his share.
He's not making any progress and he's losing money in the process.
Boy, he must have gone crazy out there.' "
He must have lost his mind to work so hard for so little payoff.
Ah, but they've never seen the Northern Lights
But they've never witnessed the beauty of the Northern Lights before.
They've never seen a hawk on the wing
They've never watched a hawk soaring on the wind.
They've never spent spring at the Great Divide
They've never experienced the spring season at the Great Divide.
And they've never heard ole Camp Cookie sing
And they've never heard the old Camp Cook sing.
So I read up the last of my letter
So I finished reading the last of the letter.
And I tore off the stamp for Black Jim
And I removed the stamp addressed to Black Jim.
And when Billy rode up to relieve me
And when Billy arrived to take my place.
He just looked at my letter and he grinned
He just smiled after reading my letter.
And he said, "Now why do they ride for their money? Tell me, why do they ride for short pay?
He asked, 'Why do people work so hard for so little payoff?'
They ain't a gettin' nowhere and they're losin' their share
They're not making progress and they're losing money in the process.
Boy, they must have gone crazy out there
They must have lost their minds to work so hard for so little payoff.
Son, they all must be crazy out there."
Everyone must be out of their minds to work so hard for so little payoff.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MICHAEL E BURTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@cavazoma
Great cowboy tune, todays country music has lost its way…..
@bravowhiskey4684
Different Garth, in a different time before the world was so broken. I wish we could go back. 😢
@ericlabeau
A different garth?
@jenniferdijames1671
Good job Garth. The funny thing about this song is that it has my name on it. My Parents are jealous.
@KERO..
@@jenniferdijames1671 lol same, night rider’s lament what a good name to have
@WalkerBait
Bud light be damned, I love this song and I always will.
@shannonvanderhoof4810
🖤🎼🖤🍻🐒
@ghill3337
Might be my favorite song. Thanks for posting.
@user-ek2ec8bw2b
I've been waiting for this one, too! It's hard to pick a favorite from this album but this is definitely one of them!! I'm so happy you posted it!!
@elainemargaretmcdonald7927
I just heard this song and it’s my fav I love his voice I wish I had it he has the perfect voice ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤