☝️ Key Points
- The song is about a man who longs for his home and wants to go back.
- It tells how he lives in Detroit City but always thinks about his home in his dreams.
- The singer feels like a failure and wishes that people could read between the lines of his letters and understand his true situation.
- Finally, the singer decides that he's had enough of deceiving himself and wants to go back to the people he left behind and who miss him so much.
- The song lyrics express the longing for home, family, and returning to one's roots.
Interpretation
The lyrics of the song "Detroit City" by
Bobby Bare are about a man who longs for his home and wants to go back. He tells that he lives in Detroit City, but in his dreams he always thinks about his home. The longing for his family, his parents, siblings, and especially a girl who has been waiting for him for a long time, is great.
Although people in his hometown think he's doing well in Detroit, by writing letters where he talks about his supposed success, the singer reveals that he builds cars during the day and works in bars at night. He feels like a failure and wishes that people could read between the lines of his letters and understand his true situation.
Finally, the singer decides he's had enough of his deception. He decides to set aside his pride, jump on a freight train heading south, and go back to the people he left behind and who miss him so much.
The lyrics of the song express the longing for home, family, and the return to one's roots. It's a song about the realization that material success is not everything and that true fulfillment lies in relationships with loved ones.