Detroit City
Longing for Home: Daniel O'Donnell's Detroit City Journey
Lyrics
I want to go home, I want to go home,
The singer expresses a strong desire to return home.
Oh Lord, I want to go home.
Reiteration of the longing to go back home, invoking a plea to the Lord for assistance.
Last night I went to sleep in Detroit city,
The singer mentions sleeping in Detroit city the previous night.
And I dreamed about those cotton fields and home,
In a dream, the singer reminisces about cotton fields and home.
I dreamed about my mother, dear old papa, sister and brother,
The dream includes thoughts of the singer's family—mother, father, sister, and brother.
And I dreamed about that girl, who's been waitin' for so long
The singer also dreams about a girl who has been waiting for a long time.
I want to go home, I want to go home,
Reiteration of the strong desire to return home, seeking the Lord's help.
Oh Lord, I want to go home
A repeated plea to the Lord to go back home.
Home folks think I'm big in Detroit city,
The singer suggests that people back home in Detroit think highly of them.
From the letters that I write they think I'm fine,
The impression is created through letters, giving the appearance of a successful life.
But by day I make the cars, and by night I make the bars,
Contrastingly, the singer reveals the reality of their life, working in car manufacturing during the day and spending nights in bars.
If only they could read between the lines
Expressing a wish for others to understand the hidden struggles between the lines of communication.
I want to go home, I want to go home,
Reiteration of the intense desire to return home, calling on the Lord.
Oh Lord, I want to go home
Repeated plea to the Lord to go back home.
You know, I rode a freight train north to Detroit city,
The singer recalls traveling to Detroit city on a freight train.
And after all these years I find I've just been wasting my time,
After spending years in Detroit, the singer realizes it has been a futile effort.
So I think I'll take my foolish pride, put it on a southbound freight and ride,
The singer plans to discard their pride, symbolized as foolish, and return southbound on a freight train to reunite with those left behind.
Go on back to the ones I left, who've been waitin' for so long
Expressing the intention to return to the people who have been waiting patiently.
I want to go home, I want to go home,
Reiteration of the strong desire to go back home, seeking divine intervention.
Oh Lord, I want to go home.
A final plea to the Lord to facilitate the return home.
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