How Long Blues
Longing for Love: Ray Charles' Melancholic Journey
Lyrics
How long, baby, how long
Expressing a sense of longing and questioning the duration of separation.
Has that evening train been gone?
Asking about the departure time of the evening train, indicating a sense of waiting.
Baby how long, yes how long?
Reiterating the question of how long, emphasizing the emotional impact of the absence.
How long?
Repeated inquiry about the duration of the separation, underscoring the emotional distress.
I went to the station
Narrating a visit to the train station, suggesting an active effort to be close during departure.
To watch my babe leave town
Observing the departure of a loved one, implying a feeling of sadness or loss.
Feeling low and disgusted
Describing personal emotions as low and disgusted, possibly due to the inability to find the baby.
For my baby couldn't be found
Expressing distress at the inability to locate the baby, intensifying the emotional impact.
How long? How long, how long?
Repeating the question "How long?" to emphasize the enduring nature of the separation.
If I could holler
If the speaker could vocalize strongly, likening it to a mountain jack, they would call their baby back.
Like a mountain jack
Imagining the speaker's determination to go to great lengths, like climbing a mountain, to reunite with the baby.
I'd climb the highest mountain
Continuing the metaphor of climbing the highest mountain to emphasize the depth of the speaker's longing.
To call my baby back
Expressing the desire to call the baby back, reinforcing the theme of separation and longing.
Oh, how long? Yes, how long, how long?
Reiterating the question "How long?" with continued emphasis on the enduring nature of the separation.
I hear the lords of wheels and poet
Hearing sounds associated with train wheels and poetry, possibly highlighting the contrast between external elements and the speaker's internal emotions.
But I see no train
Noticing the absence of an actual train despite the auditory perception, intensifying the speaker's emotional turmoil.
My heart is aching and breaking and I want it bad
Describing a heartache and a strong desire for the baby, reinforcing the theme of emotional pain and longing.
But how long, yes how long, babe, how long?
Repeating the question "How long?" while expressing the intensity of the speaker's yearning for the baby.
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