Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was a rock band formed in 1976 from Gainesv… Read Full Bio ↴Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was a rock band formed in 1976 from Gainesville, Florida, USA and led by Tom Petty.

Petty was supported by his band, The Heartbreakers, for the majority of his career. He has occasionally released solo work, as was the case with his 2006 album Highway Companion on which he performed most of the backing instrumentation himself. However, members of The Heartbreakers have played on each of his solo albums and the band has always backed him when touring in support of those albums.

After the Petty's previous band Mudcrutch disbanded, Petty, never one to give up, enlisted Mudcrutch members Tench (keyboards) and Mike Campbell (guitar), along with Gainesville musicians Ron Blair (bass) and Stan Lynch (drums) to form the now famous lineup that was dubbed Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They released their first album, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in November 1976. In 2006, the band celebrated the 30th anniversary of that release.

This lineup stayed intact for four records and was responsible for some of the most infectious songs ("American Girl", "Breakdown", "Listen To Her Heart", "Refugee", "I Need To Know", "Don't Do Me Like That") and one of the most critically acclaimed albums ("Damn the Torpedoes") of all time. Their tremendous success catapulted them from club band to arena rockers seemingly overnight.

Bassist Blair split the band in 1982 and was replaced by Howie Epstein, a protege of seminal rocker Del Shannon. Epstein's solid playing and soaring backing vocals further complemented the band's live attack. Without missing a beat, they headed back into the studio to record a string of successful albums, including the classic "Long After Dark". In 1994, Stan Lynch left the Heartbreakers to pursue other musical challenges and Steve Ferrone (well regarded for his work with the Average White Band and Eric Clapton) soon became the Heartbreakers' chosen drummer.

Most recently, at a time when many of their contemporaries have long since grown complacent, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers have in 2002 released one of their finest and most controversial efforts - featuring some of Petty's most moving songs. Recorded both before and following the group's 2002 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, "The Last DJ", reflected Petty's strong views about the state of the music business and the culture generally. With the departure of Howie Epstein, "The Last DJ" marked another notable return: after two decades away, founding Heartbreaker Ron Blair returned to the band's rhythm section. In 2010, The Heartbreakers released the well received album "Mojo".

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.

Kings Highway
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When the time gets right
I'm gonna pick you up
And take you far away
From trouble my love
Under a big old sky
Out in a field of green
There's gotta be something
Left for us to believe

Oh, I await the day
Good fortune comes our way
And we'll ride down the King's Highway
Yeah yeah

No you can't hide out
In a six gun town
We want to hold our heads up
But we gotta stay down
I don't want to end up
In a room all alone
Don't want to end up someone
That I don't even know

Lover I await the day
Good fortune comes our way
And we'll ride down the King's Highway
Yeah yeah

Lover I await the day
Good fortune comes our way
And we'll ride down the King's Highway
Yeah yeah

Lover I await the day
Good fortune comes our way

And we'll ride down the King's Highway
Yeah yeah

Overall Meaning

The song "Kings Highway" by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers is about a couple's desire to escape from their troubles, to find a place where they can believe in something again. The opening lines express the singer's determination to rescue his lover and take her to a better place, a place where they can both feel free from the constraints that hold them down. They dream of an open field of green, where they can be happy and content.

The next lines express their frustration with their current situation. They feel trapped in a small town, where they are not respected, and they are forced to survive by living lives that they don't want. They don't want to end up alone, or become someone they don't even recognize. They're looking for a way out, a way to escape and start anew, and they believe that they will from the King's Highway.

The chorus repeats the central theme of the song. The couple eagerly awaits the day when fortune smiles upon them, and their dreams of freedom are finally realized. They'll ride down the King's Highway to their new life, where they can be happy and free.

Overall, "Kings Highway" is a song that expresses the universal desire for freedom and the hope of overcoming adversity. It's an anthem for anyone who's ever wanted to escape their troubles and find a better life for themselves.

Line by Line Meaning

When the time gets right
When the moment is perfect

I'm gonna pick you up
I'll come and get you

And take you far away
And we'll go to a distant place

From trouble my love
To escape from problems, my dear

Under a big old sky
Beneath an enormous and ancient sky

Out in a field of green
In an open and verdant field

There's gotta be something
There surely must be something

Left for us to believe
That we can still hold on to and believe in

Oh, I await the day
Oh, I'm eagerly looking forward to the day

Good fortune comes our way
When we finally have luck on our side

And we'll ride down the King's Highway
We'll journey down the road of royalty

No you can't hide out
It's impossible to hide

In a six gun town
In a town known for violence and guns

We want to hold our heads up
We desire to maintain our dignity and pride

But we gotta stay down
But we're forced to remain low

I don't want to end up
I don't want to become

In a room all alone
Trapped in a lonely room

Don't want to end up someone
Don't want to become someone

That I don't even know
I don't recognize or understand

Lover I await the day
My love, I'm eagerly looking forward to the day