Stephen Stills was born in Dallas, Texas on January 3, 1945 to a military family. Moving around as a child, he developed an interest in blues and folk music. He was also influenced by Latin music after spending his teenage years in Costa Rica and the Panama Canal Zone, where he graduated from high school.
Stills dropped out of the University of Florida to pursue a music career in the early 1960s. He played in a series of unsuccessful bands including the Continentals, which featured future The Eagles guitarist Don Felder. Stills eventually ended up in a nine-member vocal harmony group, the house act at the famous Cafe Au Go Go in NYC, called the Au Go Go Singers (Rick Geiger, Roy Michaels, Michael Scott, Jean Gurney, Kathy King, Nels Gustafson, Bob Harmelink, Richie Furay & Stills) where and when he met Richie Furay. This group also did some touring in the Catskills, and in the South, released one album in 1964, then broke up in 1965. Afterwards, Stills, along with four other former members of the Au Go Go Singers: Geiger, Michaels, Gurney & Scott, formed The Company, a folk/rock group. Immediately prior to performing in the Au Go Go Singers, Stills could be seen singing solo in Gerde's Folk City, a well-known coffee house in Greenwich Village. The Company embarked on a 6-week tour of Canada where Stills met a young guitarist named Neil Young. On the VH1 CSNY Legends special, Stills would say that at that time, Young was doing what he always wanted to do, "play folk music in a rock band." The Company broke up in New York within four months, opening up the way for Geiger to join a light opera company in Los Angeles; Michaels to link up with Jimi Hendrix, Gurney to go on to college while doing TV commercials, and Scott to tour with a retro-Highwaymen. Stills did session work and went to various auditions (including an unsuccessful one for The Monkees). In 1966 he convinced a reluctant former Au Go Go Singers, Richie Furay, then living in Massachusetts, to move with him to California.
Solo years
In the wake of CSNY's success, all four members recorded solo albums. In 1970, Stills released his self-titled debut, which featured guests Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, "Mama" Cass Elliot, and Ringo Starr (credited only as "Richie") as well as contributions from various members of the CSNY band. It provided Stills with the hit single "Love The One You're With" as well as the concert favorite "Black Queen." Stills followed this with Stephen Stills 2, which featured "Change Partners." Nash saw this song as a metaphor for the many relationships in CSNY, while Stills viewed the band as something much less bland and repetitive.
The next year, Stills teamed up with ex-Byrd Chris Hillman and several CSNY sidemen to form the band Manassas. During a Manassas tour in France, Stills met and married French singer-songwriter Veronique Sanson. Then he switched to Columbia Records, where he recorded two albums: Stills in 1975 and the punningly titled Illegal Stills in 1976. The former record found Stills in an uncharacteristically joyful mood; his marriage was going great, his son Chris had just been born, and he was happy living in Colorado. "To Mama From Christopher and the Old Man" was an exceptionally optimistic view of his new family.
In 1976, Stills attempted a reunion with Neil Young. At one point, Long May You Run was slated to be a CSNY record, but when Crosby and Nash left to fufill recording and touring obligations, according to both David and Graham the other pair wiped their vocals from the recordings, as Stills and Young decided to go on without their erstwhile partners as The Stills-Young Band. However, Young would leave midway through the resulting tour due to an apparent throat infection. Stills was contractually bound to finish the tour, which he did, but upon returning home, his wife announced she wanted a divorce and wished to move back to France. Stills reunited with Crosby and Nash shortly afterwards, thanks to the efforts of Nash's future wife Susan, who got Nash to forgive Stills for wiping the Crosby and Nash vocals from Long May You Run. This led to the semi-permanent CSN reunion of 1977, which has persisted even though all three have released solo records since then.
In 1997, Stills became the first person to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice in the same night for his work with CSN and the Buffalo Springfield.
2005 saw Stills release 'Man Alive'; his first solo offering in 14 years. Although not troubling the chart compilers, the record was critically well received and is regarded by many fans as his best since the mid seventies.
Stills was the inspiring influence for Ray LaMontagne who, after hearing one of his songs, decided to quit his job and focus on music.
Go Back Home
Stephen Stills Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Think I'll go back home
Think I'll go back home
Back where I belong
Think I'll go back home
Nothin' for me here
Nothin' for me here,
Nothin' for me here
People trapped by fear
And you can't get near
Lived with you I felt
Lived with you I felt, child
Lived with you I felt
I was by myself
I was someone else
Babe, come home with me
Babe, come home with me now
Babe, come home with me
And I'll make you see
Yes, I'm gonna set you free
When I woke up this morning
I found that I was alone, yeah
'Til I called your number
They told me there's no one home again
Baby, what does it mean?
Is it like it seems?
The song "Go Back Home" by Stephen Stills is about the desire to return to a place of belonging, where one feels free from fear and isolation. The repetition of "Think I'll go back home" highlights the singer's longing for this place. He feels like there is nothing for him where he currently is, as people are trapped by fear and he can't connect with them. The line "Lived with you I felt, I was by myself" suggests that even when he was with someone, he still felt alone and disconnected.
The singer then invites his partner to come home with him so that he can show her the freedom he has found, saying that he will make her see and he'll set her free. The final verse suggests that the singer wakes up feeling lonely and calls his partner, but finds that there is no one home, leading him to wonder what it means and if things are really as they seem.
Overall, "Go Back Home" is a song about yearning for a sense of belonging and freedom from fear and isolation, and finding solace in returning home.
Line by Line Meaning
Think I'll go back home
The singer has decided to return to his home.
Think I'll go back home
The singer is emphasizing his desire to return home.
Think I'll go back home
The singer is reaffirming his plan to return home.
Back where I belong
The singer feels that returning home is where he belongs.
Think I'll go back home
The singer repeats his desire to return home.
Nothin' for me here
The singer feels there is no reason for him to stay where he is.
Nothin' for me here, Child, no there ain't
The singer emphasizes that there is nothing for him where he is.
Nothin' for me here
The singer repeats that he feels there is no reason for him to stay where he is.
People trapped by fear
The singer observes that people where he is are held back by fear.
And you can't get near
The fear and hesitation of the people make it hard to come close to them.
Lived with you I felt
The singer is reminiscing the time when he lived with someone.
Lived with you I felt, child
The singer is emphasizing that it was with a child (or youth) he lived with.
Lived with you I felt
The singer reiterates his memory of living with someone.
I was by myself
Even though he lived with someone, the singer felt alone and isolated.
I was someone else
Through his experience of living with someone, the singer was not himself but instead someone else.
Babe, come home with me
The singer is inviting someone to come home with him.
Babe, come home with me now
The singer is telling the person to come with him immediately.
Babe, come home with me
The singer reiterates his invitation for someone to come home with him.
And I'll make you see
The singer promises to provide a different perspective if the person comes with him.
Yes, I'm gonna set you free
The singer promises to liberate the person if they come with him.
When I woke up this morning
The singer is reflecting on the beginning of his day.
I found that I was alone, yeah
When he woke up, the singer was by himself.
'Til I called your number
The singer needed to call the person he's inviting to come with him.
They told me there's no one home again
The person the singer is trying to contact is not available.
Baby, what does it mean?
The singer is asking what is going on, why the person is not available.
Is it like it seems?
The singer is questioning whether the situation is as it appears.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: STILLS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind