Kansas – carry on wayward son
Copyright © 2021
A bit about the band:
“carry on wayward son” is a song by the rock band Kansas. The band debuted in 1974 with the album “Kansas”, and the song carry on wayward son was released in 1976 on the album “leftoverture”.
The lyrics:
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher
But I flew too high
Though my eyes could see, I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think, I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I’m dreaming
I can hear them say
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man, well
It surely means that I don’t know
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
But I hear the voices say
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more, no
Carry on, nothing equals the splendor
Now your life’s no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry, don’t you cry no more
The reason I believe this song is popular:
Definitely the story!
Plus the way the song starts as an a-Capella (ish) and then the drums and the riff of the guitar coming in, it definitely leaves an impression on you. Moreover, It’s a comforting song.
The song was written by Kerry Livgren the guitarist and songwriter of the band.
This song was written in a tough time for the band and almost didn’t make it to the album.
He said: “Parallel to my musical career I’ve always been on a spiritual sojourn, looking for truth and meaning. It was a song of self-encouragement. I was telling myself to keep on looking and I would find what I sought.”
The chorus of the song is a conversation between Daedalus and his son, Icarus from the Greek mythology.
Daedalus was a master craftsman who was imprisoned on the island Crete together with his son.
Daedalus crafted wings from feathers and wax for the two of them so they can escape the island.
He warned Icarus to not fly too low because the moisture from the sea would dampen the feathers and to not fly too close to the sun, because it would melt the wax.
But Icarus, excited by the possibility of flight, soared too high and came too close to the sun. The wax melted and he died of drowning in the ocean.
The chorus of the song is Daedalus’ response to the freedom Icarus gained in dying.
The second verse signify the amount of grief and sadness of Daedalus over the loss of his son.
Why I love this song:
I love this song because it gives me strength and inspires me to keep on going even if I have a rough time. I believe more people think the same way as me and love to listen to this song and think about hardships in their life and how they overcome it.
How I found this song:
I stumbled upon this great song from a TV show called “Supernatural”. This song was played at the end of each season and turned into a theme song of the show unofficially. In the show it symbolizes that even though they had a hard time they overcome it and it’s not the end of their journey.
This song introduced me to this great band and more awesome music from the seventies.
More great songs you should listen to:
Some of the songs I got to know from the series “Supernatural”
How successful was this song?:
Carry On Wayward Son continues to be one of the top five most played songs on classic rock radio, and the album it is on remains their highest selling album, having been certified 5 times platinum in the United States.
The success is from the story behind the lyrics, the comfort it gives you and the way the song was executed, meaning there was a build up for the song from starting to sing without instruments.
In conclusion, this song is great and will continue to be one of my favorite songs.
Published: Dec 20, 2021
Latest Revision: Dec 27, 2021
Ourboox Unique Identifier: OB-1249821
Copyright © 2021
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