His project Spearhead produced the critically acclaimed Home in 1994. The album contained his biggest single, "Hole in the Bucket," a thoughtful lament on the plight of the homeless, and "Positive," which addressed the growing AIDS epidemic. The album boasted adept funk samplings, sinuous guitar vamps, and soulful, melodic tracks about family and social injustice. 1997's Chocolate Supa Highway was not as pop-friendly as Home, but neither did its themes of kidnappings and police brutality lend themselves to such overt accessibility. Its mixture of harsher musical styles -- techno, rock, and funk -- was a step forward for Franti as his world view broadened and deepened. In 2001, Franti released Stay Human. In it he expresses his anger at the system, his advocacy of love, and his belief in freedom through individuality and self-expression through a set of songs that revolve around a fictitious death penalty case. In it, his embrace of the genres that inspired him is achieved with eloquence.
Earlier projects of Franti include The Beatnigs and The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, which had more of an experimental/industrial sound, but addressed many of the same social/political issues.
As a celebration of the Election of Barack Obama Franti recorded the Obama Song, offered as a free track on downloaded at their offical website, www.michaelfranti.com/.
Long Ride Home
Michael Franti & Spearhead Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's a long ride home
You and me would always be
Dreaming of places we would never ever get to see
Like Indonesia or Zanzabar
But every night we'd end up at a local bar
Somebody told me don't stare at horizons
Unless you are ready to run
So we can we can drive all the way across America
One day closer till my number comes
We gonna keep on burnin' till the night is gone
It's a long ride home
It's a long ride home
It's a long ride home
We drove down the Mississippi past a bus of hippies
Drinking 40s and rolling up some sticky icky
Under the stars or maybe even Mars
Muscle cars are smoking up the boulevard
You look pretty out of the city
You said you love me and there's no place you wanna go alone
One day closer till my number comes
We gonna keep on burnin' till the night is gone
It's a long ride home
It's a long ride home
So take me away
Take me away
Take me away
One day closer till my number comes
We gonna keep on burnin' till the night is gone
It's a long ride home
So take me away (Why don't you take me away)
Take me away (Why don't you take me away)
Take me away
One day closer till my number comes
We gonna keep on burnin' till the night is gone
It's a long ride home
It's a long ride home
The song "Long Ride Home" by Michael Franti & Spearhead is a ballad about two people who are dreaming of traveling to exotic places like Indonesia or Zanzibar, but end up spending their nights at a local bar. The chorus, "It's a long ride home," is a metaphor for the journey through life. The singer and his companion are taking the long road, experiencing everything they can along the way, but always keeping in mind the ultimate destination.
The first verse expresses the desire to see the world beyond their current surroundings, but the advice they receive is to not stare too long at the horizon unless they are ready to run. The suggestion is to save their money and buy a car so they can drive across America. The second verse describes a journey down the Mississippi river, encountering hippies drinking and smoking weed. The singer's companion tells him that she loves him and does not want to be alone.
The song "Long Ride Home" is a reflection on the meaning of life and the journey it takes. It encourages the listener to enjoy the journey and experience everything it has to offer, rather than just look forward to the destination. It also speaks to the importance of companionship during the journey.
Line by Line Meaning
It's a long ride home
The journey back home is going to take a lot of time and effort.
You and me would always be
Dreaming of places we would never ever get to see
Like Indonesia or Zanzabar
But every night we'd end up at a local bar
We often talked about traveling to exotic places like Indonesia or Zanzibar, but in reality, we ended up spending our nights at local bars instead.
Somebody told me don't stare at horizons
Unless you are ready to run
So let's save our money and buy a car
So we can we can drive all the way across America
Someone once advised me to not dream big unless I was ready to take action. So let's save up and buy a car, so that we can actually drive across America, instead of just talking about it.
We drove down the Mississippi past a bus of hippies
Drinking 40s and rolling up some sticky icky
Under the stars or maybe even Mars
Muscle cars are smoking up the boulevard
As we drove through Mississippi, we saw a bus of hippies drinking and smoking marijuana under the stars, feeling as if they were on another planet. Muscle cars were revving up the boulevard with smoke.
You look pretty out of the city
You said you love me and there's no place you wanna go alone
You look beautiful outside the city, and you expressed your love for me, stating that there is no place you'd rather be without me.
So take me away
Take me away
Take me away
One day closer till my number comes
We gonna keep on burnin' till the night is gone
It's a long ride home
Take me away to a place where we can continue our journey, one day closer to our eventual end. We will keep living in the moment and taking risks until the night ends and we finally reach our long ride home.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management
Written by: ADRIAN SCOTT NEWMAN, MICHAEL J. FRANTI, JASON BOWMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind