Homeward Bound
Simon and Garfunkel/Paul Simon Lyrics

I'm sitting in the railway station
Starting the song in a railway station, author sets the stage for the song and the story as a whole. It's implied that the person feels stuck in this situation and wants to escape.

Got a ticket to my destination
Setting the idea of someone who knows where they're going and what they're doing, but doesn't necessarily want to be doing it.

On a tour of one-night stands my suitcase and guitar in hand
Suggesting the singer is a traveling musician, constantly on the road, but their route or purpose isn't what they want it to be, rather a tour of one-night stands.

And every stop is neatly planned for a poet and a one-man band
Suggesting the artist has planned out their path, but that path feels limiting and unfulfilling to them. They are a 'poet and a one-man band' which emphasizes the idea of being alone, just one person without a community.

Homeward bound
This is the main idea that runs through the entirety of the song. The author wants to return home, yet the journey is necessary for growth.

Home where my thought's escaping
The idea of 'home' not just being a physical place, but a mental escape as well. Perhaps the author is in search of peace and serenity from the chaotic world they are currently living in.

Home where my music's playing
Music could be a metaphor for happiness, comfort, and solitude. The author seeks to go back to their roots, where they find comfort in what they do.

Home where my love lies waiting
This could be taken in two ways. It could be a literal 'love', someone waiting for them back home or it could be a metaphor for something important that's waiting for them to come back to in their life.

Silently for me
A way of emphasizing the importance of what the author is seeking in their search for home. They are seeking something that they can quietly and internally hold without needing to broadcast it.

Every day's an endless stream
The author feels trapped in their constant routine with no sense of direction, every day is the same.

Of cigarettes and magazines
Every stop on their tour is the same, with only small, superficial things changing. They are running on autopilot, numbing their constant dissatisfaction with temporary pleasures.

And each town looks the same to me the movies and the factories
With every stop, the sameness of each town becomes more and more unbearable. It's all the same scenes over and over again, only the details differ between each one.

And every stranger's face I see reminds me that I long to be
Seeing other people only reminds the singer of how disconnected they are from everyone else, and how much they want to leave their current situation.

Tonight I'll sing my songs again
The author is trying to perceive their position in a better way. They've done this before, singing their songs the night before and they will end up doing this again and again.

I'll play the game and pretend
The author pretends that everything is okay, despite not feeling this way, and continues to perform for others, despite what they might be feeling personally.

But all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity
The author is not impressed by their own music as they are not true to themselves. They feel that their art has become a part of the routine they want to escape from, which they see as mediocre.

Like emptiness in harmony I need someone to comfort me
The moment author wants to find someone who could appreciate their creation and give them some comfort. They feel empty and crave emotional support to keep their spirits up.