After working with his early bands The Sundowners, The Epics, and Mudcrutch (which also included future Heartbreakers members Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench) he began his recording career with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers when the band broke onto the national music scene with their 1976 self-titled debut album. Still, it took America a full year to catch up to the album. "Breakdown" was re-released to radio and became a Top 40 hit in 1977 after word filtered back the band was creating a firestorm in England.
He was also a member of The Traveling Wilburys, along with George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison. Petty and the Heartbreakers also toured as a backing band for Bob Dylan.
Petty is a vocal critic of the modern recording industry, including the disintegration of independent radio stations.
Petty has been supported by his band, The Heartbreakers, for the majority of his career. He has occasionally released solo work, as is the case with his 2006 effort, Highway Companion, on which he performed most of the backing instrumentation himself. Examples of other solo albums include Full Moon Fever and Wildflowers
Petty died on 2 October 2017 following a cardiac episode earlier that day at his home in Malibu, California. Although some media outlets incorrectly reported his death following an erroneous police report, his death was confirmed later that day by his publicist and manager.
Crawling Back to You
Tom Petty Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For day to break so we could go
Down into Los Angeles
With dirty hands and worn out knees
I keep crawling back to you
I keep crawling back to you
The chambermaid awoke surprised
Thought she'd seen the last of him
She shook her head and let him in
I keep crawling back to you
I keep crawling back to you
Hey baby, there's something in your eyes
Tryin' to say to me
That I'm gonna be alright if I believe in you
It's all I want to do
It was me and my sidekick
He was drunk and I was sick
We were caught up in a barroom fight
'Til an Indian shot out the lights
I'm so tired of being tired
Sure as night will follow day
Most things I worry about
Never happen anyway
I keep crawling back to you
I keep crawling back to you
I keep crawling back to you
I keep crawling back to you
I keep crawling back to you
The song "Crawling Back to You" by Tom Petty is a heartfelt admission of his emotional weakness and his inability to move on from a past love. The opening stanza paints a picture of the singer waiting by the side of the road for daybreak, symbolizing his desire to take a new direction but being unable to. He mentions his dirty hands and worn-out knees, which could be a metaphor for his tired spirit and inability to find a way out. The chorus repeats the line "I keep crawling back to you" emphasizing his inability to move on, despite his better judgment.
The second verse tells a story of a ranger and a chambermaid, both surprised by the singer's presence, emphasizing his sense of being out of place. The line "Hey baby, there's something in your eyes/Tryin' to say to me/That I'm gonna be alright if I believe in you/It's all I want to do", highlights his hope that his past love can help him find a way out of his emotional turmoil.
In the third verse, he again emphasizes his feeling of being trapped and helpless with the lines “I'm so tired of being tired/Sure as night will follow day". The last chorus repeats the line “I keep crawling back to you" four times, emphasizing the urgent need he feels to return to his past love, even though he knows it might not be the best decision.
Overall, the song is a relatable and emotional depiction of the struggle to move on from a past relationship, and the desperate hold it can have on an individual.
Line by Line Meaning
Waiting by the side of the road
Anticipating daybreak so that we could leave, we were waiting by the road.
For day to break so we could go
We were waiting for the sun to come up indicating that it's time to leave.
Down into Los Angeles
We were heading south towards Los Angeles.
With dirty hands and worn out knees
We were tired and dirty from our journey.
I keep crawling back to you
No matter how hard I try to move on, I cannot resist coming back to you.
The ranger came with burning eyes
The ranger arrived with an intense gaze.
The chambermaid awoke surprised
The chambermaid woke up to find him standing there and was taken aback.
Thought she'd seen the last of him
She assumed that she had seen the last of him after their previous encounter.
She shook her head and let him in
Despite her surprise, she allowed him to enter the room.
Hey baby, there's something in your eyes
I can see something in your eyes that tells me everything will be okay as long as I believe in you.
Tryin' to say to me
Your eyes are attempting to convey a message to me.
That I'm gonna be alright if I believe in you
If I place my trust in you, everything will work out fine for me.
It's all I want to do
My only desire is to believe in you and trust that everything will be alright.
It was me and my sidekick
My companion and I were involved in the incident.
He was drunk and I was sick
I was unwell, while my friend was intoxicated.
We were caught up in a barroom fight
We got into a brawl in a crowded bar.
'Til an Indian shot out the lights
The fight ended when a Native American shot out the lights.
I'm so tired of being tired
I am exhausted both mentally and physically from the journey.
Sure as night will follow day
Just as day will turn into night, some things are inevitable.
Most things I worry about
The majority of my worries and anxieties.
Never happen anyway
The majority of my worries never actually come to pass or occur.
I keep crawling back to you
No matter what happens or where I go, I can't help but come back to you.
I keep crawling back to you
Again, I reiterate that I cannot resist the temptation to come back to you.
I keep crawling back to you
I cannot emphasize enough how powerless I am against my urge to return to you.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: Thomas Earl Petty
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@armadillotoe
There are a handful of songs that touch me to the core. This is one of them. Everyone hears music differently, but to me, this is sublime.
@ThomasSLutter
Love the Album since I bought it '94. If there is beauty and comfort in music at the same time, then Tom has nailed it. Bravo!
@user-nn7fh5cx5n
Year I was born....I have that same magic in my heart.
@chrishowell199
One of my favorite Petty songs. I feel like most people don't know about this one, but it's a powerful one for me.
@fernfreeman1729
I didn't know about this song but now I do and it's superb 👌 👏 I miss Tom Petty, we all do!
@850cathedral
Its been nearly a month since Tom died, and six weeks since I last saw him live. I thought I'd finally moved on from my grieving, when I clicked on this song and immediately erupted into tears. I grew up on Tom, right from his beginning, all the way through to his end; And it feels as if I've just lost one of my life's best friends. The whole world took him for granted, even me. He was just always there for us, reminding us of our great past, and that we were still a great people, with a special and cheerishable way about us. He brought all of that out in his songs, and it deeply affected more of us than we'd probably care to admit. Despite his humble looks and attitude, he succeeded in ways most of us can only dream of, yet he never took that for granted, and always loved and respected his friends, family and fans. He was a prolific song writer and consummate professional when it came to performing. He never let you down... In the end, I believe he was perhaps one of our most treasured, and yet perhaps underappreciated soles. His words and music described our heart and our soul as a people...as a nation, from cradle to grave. He was uniquely American, he was one of us, and he will be sorely missed...
@paulacrump699
thank you for sharing this beautiful message
@theresaruffle7504
If it helps your not alone feeling like this. I saw him 3 months before he died. Can’t really get past it.
@rogergoulet1465
Very well articulate.
@GCAT-zv9in
850cathedral+Well, it's been nine moths now.I still don't feel like he is gone, it just can not be true. His voice is so clear here. EVERY ONE OF THEIR SONGS IS SOMETHING I CAN RELATE TO! When you sit down, and just start listing all the songs you can remember, your pen runs dry. Who else has had that many spot on lyrics? Who will sing about this stage of my life if not him? I will have to write my own I guess, but even if I write them with nothing but honesty, they won't sound as true as if HE had written them. It doesn't make sense, I know, but hey...I'm grieving here. HE IS our friend. He always has been and always will be.