Far From the Home I Love
Jerry Bock Lyrics
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How can I hope to make you understand
Why I do what I do,
Why I must travel to a distant land,
Far from the home I love.
Once I was happily content to be
As I was, where I was,
Close to the people who are close to me,
Who could see that a man could come
Who would change the shape of his dreams.
Helpless now I stand with him,
Watching older dreams grow dim.
Oh, what a melancholy choice this is,
Wanting home, wanting him,
Closing my heart to ev'ry hope but his,
Leaving the home I love,
There where my heart has settled long ago
I must go, I must go, I must go,
Who could imagine I'd be wand'ring so
Far from the home I love
Yet there with my love, I'm home.
How can she think we wouldn't understand
Why she does what she does,
Why she must travel to a distant land,
Far from the home she loves.
Once she was happily content to be
As she was, where she was,
Safe in the bosom to her family,
Here in the home she loves.
Who could see that a man could come
Who would change the shape of my dreams.
Helpless now she stands with him,
Watching older dreams grow dim.
Oh, what a melancholy choice this is,
Wanting home, wanting him,
Closing her heart to ev'ry hope but his,
Leaving the home she loves,
There where her heart has settled long ago
She must go, she must go, she must go,
Who could imagine she'd be wand'ring so
Far from the home she loves
Yet there with her love, she's home.
Jerry Bock's song "Far from the Home I Love" is a poignant ballad that speaks to the heart of anyone who has ever been torn between the love of their family and the love of their significant other. The song’s lyrics are sung by Hodel, a young woman who has fallen in love with a man from a distant land and feels compelled to follow him there. She struggles with the decision to leave her family and the only home she has ever known to be with him, even though she knows that this means giving up everything she has ever known and loved.
The song speaks to the power of love and how it can pull us in many different directions. As Hodel sings, "why I must travel to a distant land, far from the home I love," she is expressing the deep longing she feels to be with her lover, but also acknowledging the pain of leaving her family and the home that has been her sanctuary for so long. The lyrics capture the bittersweet nature of love, the joy of being with someone you care about deeply, but also the sadness and heartache that comes with it.
One of the biggest themes present in this song is the conflict that often exists between love and duty. The love that Hodel feels for her partner is strong and undeniable, but it also makes her feel like she has a responsibility to follow him wherever he goes. She feels that it is her duty to make this sacrifice, even though it requires her to leave everything she has ever known behind. The song is a powerful meditation on this theme, showing how love can sometimes lead us in unexpected directions.
Line by Line Meaning
How can I hope to make you understand
She wonders how she can explain to others why she's leaving home for a faraway land.
Why I do what I do,
She ponders why she's compelled to travel so far from the home she loves.
Why I must travel to a distant land,
She's explaining why she has to leave the place she loves and venture into a foreign world.
Far from the home I love.
She's lamenting how far she will be from the place dear to her heart.
Once I was happily content to be
She recalls her former happiness, when she was comfortable and satisfied being where she was.
As I was, where I was,
She was happy being who she was and living where she lived with the people she knew.
Close to the people who are close to me,
She had strong relationships with those who were familiar to her.
Here in the home I love.
She's talking about how much she loves her home, and how she misses it already.
Who could see that a man could come
She remembers how unexpected the course of her life was, how a man changed everything.
Who would change the shape of his dreams.
She's addressing the effect that this man had on her life and dreams.
Helpless now I stand with him,
She feels powerless and vulnerable now that she's with him.
Watching older dreams grow dim.
She realizes that she may never realize the dreams she had before he showed up.
Oh, what a melancholy choice this is,
She's deeply sad and regretful about the decision she has to make.
Wanting home, wanting him,
She feels caught between two desires: to be with this man, but also to be at home.
Closing my heart to ev'ry hope but his,
She's sacrificing everything for him, closing her mind and heart to all other possibilities.
Leaving the home I love,
She's explaining that she has to leave regardless of the pain she feels about it.
There where my heart has settled long ago
She has a deep connection to her home, where her heart has felt at home for a long time.
I must go, I must go, I must go,
She repeats that she must leave, although it's difficult.
Who could imagine I'd be wand'ring so
She's surprised by how far away from home she has ended up.
Far from the home I love
She repeats that she's so far from home and it pains her.
Yet there with my love, I'm home.
She finds comfort in being with her love, even if it's in a faraway place.
Contributed by Emily C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.