Kansas: Carry on Wayward Son Meaning
Song Released: 1976
Carry on Wayward Son Lyrics
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher
But I flew too...
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a person on a spritual journey, he doesn't reach where he wants to be or find the answers he is looking for but he does have an awakening which allows him to see the wrong path and the lies, despite this emotional turmoil he is encouraged to continue because he will find peace in the end.
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I interpreted this very personally. The first time I heard this song, it was a month after my dad died. I was only 17 when it happened, and I was extremely depressed. I wasn't going to school, wasn't even eating or getting out of bed. But I heard this song on the radio and it was as if my dad was speaking to me telling me to "Carry on my wayward son (to continue living your life), there'll be peace when you are done ( you will feel. At peace with yourself when you look back on your life and see that you were able to carry on), lay your weary head to rest (once you have looked back on your life and see that you were able to continue, you can rest in peace), don't you cry no more (stop crying about me and continue with your life)
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Continuing on a journey of discovery, knowing that no matter how many people surround you with their version of the answers, we are all searching for our selves with our own unique gifts.
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i think its more about the fact that sometimes there are things that just needs to be done, if you like it or not. "carry on my wayward son, there will be peace when you are done" and the thing about Icarus is a metaphor, do you even know what happened to him? he had made wings by gluing feathers to his arms with beeswax, but when he flew to close to the sun the wax melted and he fell plummeting to his death.
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I watched a TV show in the 70's about teen boys living as runaways and forced to sell themselves in order to servive. Some were tricked into the life style, having no other alternative. Many of the guys that were interviewed, stated that they never thought their life would come to this and how hard it was to get away from the life style, even dieing if they tried. The show mentioned that the singer of Kansas saw the things that were happening and going on in the street life and the song was about finding ones self and rising above the past failures. "The Wayward Son" being the boy who believed in the lies and his own denials, thinking the grass was greener on the other side and ending up selling his soul to servive and not becoming his own self or loosing control of his choices. Not being able to get out of the life style he chose to enter and becoming more defeated as time went on. "There will be peace when you are done" was a statement that once the teen was finally rid of that lifestyle, his suffering would end, but until then, he would suffer the humiliations and abuse. It is strange becouse Elton John's song "Island Girl" became popular and it was about girls coming over to the US and becoming prostitutes.
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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I agree with baldgi. For me it's overcoming ties with mainstream religion and finding the true path to God. The part where he says “once I rose above the noise and confusion just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion…” I feel that it means he rose above the noise and confusion of mainstream religions. Once he found his path i.e. “soaring ever higher but I flew too high…” he gets burned because he is going down a different path than the mainstream religions and they don’t like it i.e. no control over his mind, body, or soul. Then he states that they tell him what he sees is wrong and he is blind and what he knows is wrong and he is mad, but he can hear Gods true words i.e. "I can hear the voices when I'm dreaming...", so he puts on a front and hides his path. He fights to show people this way he has found and it is very emotional and tough because everyone is so stuck to mainstream religions but he holds his course for winds of fortune i.e. Heaven. When he hears the voices say “Carry on my wayward son, they’ll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest don’t you cry no more…” that is God’s word being spoken to him saying, Keep going down your path to me for there will be peace when you are done I.e. “surely heaven waits for you…” and lay down and rest a bit and don’t cry out to the people for the ignorant will not hear you. Now I’m not saying everyone is ignorant but I think it means the ones who turn from God. –Well that’s my thoughts on it! *rstanfill13@yahoo.com
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Boring perhaps but I think It's about the last three years of jesus' life and how difficult he found it, how alone he really was. I have always heard the song in two voices, the 'carry on my wayward son' chorus sung by the father figure and the angst ridden verses sung by the son.
[Carry on, you will always remember
Carry on, nothing equals the splendor
Now your life's no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you]
I think this is about the time leading up to the crucifixion.He sees the purpose about to be realised and the end is almost here.
You could make and argument for icarus and deadalus but I don't understand why daedalus would be encouraging to put himseld in danger by flying clost to the sun. There are other/different Icarus mythts that hold the same weight -
Despite the seeming direct reference to Icarus, I've always felt the song was based on the parable of the prodigal son that Jesus tells (Luke 15:11-32). The chorus is the father (representing God in the parable) proclaiming 'go ahead on, my son, and when you grow tired of your foolishness and sin, I'll be here for you'. The verses are the son coming to the conclusion that he's blown it; he's a sinner. Again, the chorus repeats...I'm still here, c'mon back and it will all be ok. 'Lay your weary head to rest, don't you cry no more.'
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I always thought this was about a soldier trying to rationalize what he's doing and his experiences in war.
These were the top three lines I found that seem to point towards his justifications:
---"There'll be peace when you are done" - usually claimed to be the reasons nations go to war. Our soldier here feels that he is bringing peace by fighting a just cause.
---"Masquerading as a man with a reason" - Again, he's trying to cling to the belief that his side is correct, and that there is a reason for the violence... However he is struggling with or even doubting this justification.
---"Surely heaven waits for you" - This could either be the belief that someday he will leave the horror of battle to a more pleasant place, maybe by death, or it could again be the product of the belief that what he is doing is right (aka going to gain him a place in heaven for his good deeds)
Other quotes:
---"Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion" - this could represent the soldier's attempt to understand the true circumstances of the war, because he is questioning the morality of the war in which he involved. Perhaps he believes he is mislead regarding the enemy, the illusion being the original thoughts he had about the situation.
---"I can hear the voices when I'm dreaming" - Possibly the effects of PTSD, remembering the horror of war. This would be especially significant if he feels remorse for the killing.
---"My charade is the event of the season" - Perhaps our soldier feels cynical towards the glorification of war. He expresses contempt toward the sugar-coated coverage of his experiences during the war by media or other sources.
---"On a stormy sea of moving emotion" - again, during and after the war our soldier probably felt conflict of emotions regarding the morality of the situation. This would be intensified by the physical extremes he endured in combat.
---"You will always remember" - Simply put, he will never forget his service, for better or for worse. -
This song, like many others that Kerry Livgren wrote, reflects his religious journey. Something inside of him was calling him to carry on. Obviously there are Biblical and Greek mythological references. I don't think that's what the song is about though.
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Despite the seeming direct reference to Icarus, I've always felt the song was based on the parable of the prodigal son that Jesus tells (Luke 15:11-32). The chorus is the father (representing God in the parable) proclaiming 'go ahead on, my son, and when you grow tired of your foolishness and sin, I'll be here for you'. The verses are the son coming to the conclusion that he's blown it; he's a sinner. Again, the chorus repeats...I'm still here, c'mon back and it will all be ok. 'Lay your weary head to rest, don't you cry no more.'
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Despite the seeming direct reference to Icarus, I've always felt the song was based on the parable of the prodigal son that Jesus tells (Luke 15:11-32). The chorus is the father (representing God in the parable) proclaiming 'go ahead on, my son, and when you grow tired of your foolishness and sin, I'll be here for you'. The verses are the son coming to the conclusion that he's blown it; he's a sinner. Again, the chorus repeats...I'm still here, c'mon back and it will all be ok. 'Lay your weary head to rest, don't you cry no more.'
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It's clearly an allusion of the Icarus myth.
Both Icarus and Daedalus are talking
Icarus :Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean: he drowns in the sea
I set a course for winds of fortune: He's flying on the wind to escape the labyrint
Daedalus:
-Carry on my wayward son: Icarus dies because he is wayward, he doesn't listen to his father
-There'll be peace when you are done: he can rest in peace
Lay your weary head to rest: it's about the same thing
Basically: It's both Icarus or Daedalus talking in the lyrics. You can find tons of references to the myth there. -
I think this has to do with the people in war.and the people who have a bad life filled with sadness,and about the people that realize the things we're doing to ruin this world, and the voices the hear when they dream is a sign from their conscience telling them it's gonna be alright. also that it represents the human being's quest for wealth. They fight their feelings to find out the wonders of life.
"On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune "
and that's what I think the song means
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