By Nicholas Lives
"Don't Stop Believing" (by Journey) is one of those songs that is largely considered to be a "classic." After all, it gets replayed and remixed by multiple artists nearly every year. There must be something about it that has caused it to stick in the minds of people everywhere for so many years.
Because of this, I decided to take it upon myself to investigate the lyrics of this so-called classic, and discover for myself what sort of story this song aims to tell its massive audience.
Let us begin the investigation!
Below I have provided the lyrics to the song (black), along with my investigative commentary pertaining to the lyrics' meaning. (red)
Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world
And so begins the story. Here we are told that a “small town” girl lives in a “lonely world.” Where exactly that “lonely world” is located remains ambiguous, leading me to believe that this world is most likely some sort of run-down ghost town, because what other “small town” could be more lonely and ambiguous?
She took the midnight train goin' anywhere
I suppose living in a run-down ghost-town just wasn’t working out for Ms. Small-Town, although one can’t help but wonder why she decided to board a train at such a late hour. Not only that, but “goin’ anywhere” indicates she doesn’t know where the train is going. I suspect evil may be afoot here…
Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit
Now we’re talking about another kid, huh? Considering this is framed in the same way as the first line, one can infer that the writer of the song considers “south Detroit” just as bad as “lonely world.”
He took the midnight train goin' anywhere
What’s with everyone leaving town so late at night? I guess Mr. City-Boy must be pretty desperate to get out of south Detroit, but for what reason? I wonder if this is the same midnight train that Ms. Small-Town boarded…
A singer in a smokey room
A smell of wine and cheap perfume
These two lines seem to indicate we’re in a bar or nightclub of some sort, but since the last line talked about boarding the midnight train, one can only assume that this bar is in fact located INSIDE the midnight train. I think now I can see why everyone was so eager to board it.
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on
“For a smile they can share the night?” Now we’ve established that the midnight club train ALSO functions as a bed-and-breakfast, and that they apparently use smiles for currency. What a train ride! But the next line indicates something far more sinister. What goes on and on and on? The train? Is the midnight club/bed-and-breakfast train going to keep rolling off into “anywhere” forever?
(Chorus)
Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard
This is where things start getting creepy. Who are these strangers? What are they waiting for? Why won’t the train stop already? Ms. Small-Town and Mr. City-Boy should never have boarded this midnight train…
Their shadows searching in the night
Now the strangers’ shadows are searching? Searching for what? Souls to devour? Don’t make eye contact with the shadows, Ms. Small-Town and Mr. City-Boy! It’s a trick!
Streetlights people, living just to find emotion
As the train lurks on down the forever-winding boulevard to anywhere, it would appear that the “Streetlights” are taking on the forms of “people!” These streetlight people apparently only live to find “emotion,” but I suspect the only emotion they are after is FEAR.
Hiding, somewhere in the night.
I’m not sure what’s scarier, knowing that shadow people and streetlight people are slowly pursuing me, or not knowing where they are hiding in the night, or when they might attack again.
Working hard to get my fill,
Everybody wants a thrill
It has become apparent that this so-called “midnight train” is the railroad equivalent to that squid-faced fellow’s ship of lost souls from Pirates of the Caribbean. “Working off to get my fill?” The only way to get off, it seems, is to pay off your debt to the evil train conductor. Although the second line here seems to indicate that Mr. City-Boy and Ms. Small-Town aren’t the only ones trying to get off this nightmare train…
Payin' anything to roll the dice,
Just one more time
Payin’ anything to roll the dice just one more time? What could this possibly mean? Is Mr. City-Boy gambling for his life now? How desperate are these people to get off this train of doom? I can’t blame them, I suppose. Those streetlight-people and stranger’s shadows are hiding somewhere in the night, after all. It’s only a matter of time before they leap from the darkness to snatch up a wandering soul.
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Some will win, some will lose. Judging from the information give on line 2, I guess the losers are forced to “sing the blues” to appease the cackling demons and ghosts that are undoubtedly watching the frightened passengers of the midnight train. Now that’s just sick.
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on
Not only do the passengers have to worry about the presence of demonic streetlight-people, mysterious ghostly shadows, and a never-ending train, but it appears they also have to endure the premiere of the evil train conductor’s home-made movie! A movie with such badly-written dialog and horrible acting that every second you spend watching it causes your brain to throb in agony. Those monsters! This train truly is the Nightmare Express.
(Chorus)
Don't stop believin'
Hold on to the feelin'
Now is the part where the song gets all inspirational and stuff. I think I finally see why this song is so popular! Even though Mr. City-Boy and Ms. Small-Town are trapped on a nightmarish train of lost souls, they “don’t stop believing” that they may eventually escape one day, and “hold on to the feeling” of sanity that has been steadily dripping away since they boarded the Nightmare Express. It’s bittersweet, really. I kind of have hope for the two poor souls now. Maybe they WILL escape... Maybe someday, if they just keep believing… they will-
Streetlight people
And just like that, all hope is lost. After filling our minds with all that “believing” nonsense, the song seems to tell us the end to this story in a single line. “Streetlight people.” Of course, how could we forget about the streetlight people? We don’t hear anything more about our two heroes after this, indicating that perhaps while they were busy “believing” in themselves and “holding on” the the tiny sliver of sanity left in their minds, the Streetlight-people burst in through the window, and carry them off into the lurking shadows, never to be seen again… This is quite a miserable end to the story of a small-town girl and a city boy from Detroit, who unfortunately decided to board the midnight train going anywhere.
So I guess we know now why this is such a popular song. After all, who doesn't like a good ghost story?
"Don't Stop Believing" (by Journey) is one of those songs that is largely considered to be a "classic." After all, it gets replayed and remixed by multiple artists nearly every year. There must be something about it that has caused it to stick in the minds of people everywhere for so many years.
Because of this, I decided to take it upon myself to investigate the lyrics of this so-called classic, and discover for myself what sort of story this song aims to tell its massive audience.
Let us begin the investigation!
Below I have provided the lyrics to the song (black), along with my investigative commentary pertaining to the lyrics' meaning. (red)
Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world
And so begins the story. Here we are told that a “small town” girl lives in a “lonely world.” Where exactly that “lonely world” is located remains ambiguous, leading me to believe that this world is most likely some sort of run-down ghost town, because what other “small town” could be more lonely and ambiguous?
She took the midnight train goin' anywhere
I suppose living in a run-down ghost-town just wasn’t working out for Ms. Small-Town, although one can’t help but wonder why she decided to board a train at such a late hour. Not only that, but “goin’ anywhere” indicates she doesn’t know where the train is going. I suspect evil may be afoot here…
Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit
Now we’re talking about another kid, huh? Considering this is framed in the same way as the first line, one can infer that the writer of the song considers “south Detroit” just as bad as “lonely world.”
He took the midnight train goin' anywhere
What’s with everyone leaving town so late at night? I guess Mr. City-Boy must be pretty desperate to get out of south Detroit, but for what reason? I wonder if this is the same midnight train that Ms. Small-Town boarded…
A singer in a smokey room
A smell of wine and cheap perfume
These two lines seem to indicate we’re in a bar or nightclub of some sort, but since the last line talked about boarding the midnight train, one can only assume that this bar is in fact located INSIDE the midnight train. I think now I can see why everyone was so eager to board it.
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on
“For a smile they can share the night?” Now we’ve established that the midnight club train ALSO functions as a bed-and-breakfast, and that they apparently use smiles for currency. What a train ride! But the next line indicates something far more sinister. What goes on and on and on? The train? Is the midnight club/bed-and-breakfast train going to keep rolling off into “anywhere” forever?
(Chorus)
Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard
This is where things start getting creepy. Who are these strangers? What are they waiting for? Why won’t the train stop already? Ms. Small-Town and Mr. City-Boy should never have boarded this midnight train…
Their shadows searching in the night
Now the strangers’ shadows are searching? Searching for what? Souls to devour? Don’t make eye contact with the shadows, Ms. Small-Town and Mr. City-Boy! It’s a trick!
Streetlights people, living just to find emotion
As the train lurks on down the forever-winding boulevard to anywhere, it would appear that the “Streetlights” are taking on the forms of “people!” These streetlight people apparently only live to find “emotion,” but I suspect the only emotion they are after is FEAR.
Hiding, somewhere in the night.
I’m not sure what’s scarier, knowing that shadow people and streetlight people are slowly pursuing me, or not knowing where they are hiding in the night, or when they might attack again.
Working hard to get my fill,
Everybody wants a thrill
It has become apparent that this so-called “midnight train” is the railroad equivalent to that squid-faced fellow’s ship of lost souls from Pirates of the Caribbean. “Working off to get my fill?” The only way to get off, it seems, is to pay off your debt to the evil train conductor. Although the second line here seems to indicate that Mr. City-Boy and Ms. Small-Town aren’t the only ones trying to get off this nightmare train…
Payin' anything to roll the dice,
Just one more time
Payin’ anything to roll the dice just one more time? What could this possibly mean? Is Mr. City-Boy gambling for his life now? How desperate are these people to get off this train of doom? I can’t blame them, I suppose. Those streetlight-people and stranger’s shadows are hiding somewhere in the night, after all. It’s only a matter of time before they leap from the darkness to snatch up a wandering soul.
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Some will win, some will lose. Judging from the information give on line 2, I guess the losers are forced to “sing the blues” to appease the cackling demons and ghosts that are undoubtedly watching the frightened passengers of the midnight train. Now that’s just sick.
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on
Not only do the passengers have to worry about the presence of demonic streetlight-people, mysterious ghostly shadows, and a never-ending train, but it appears they also have to endure the premiere of the evil train conductor’s home-made movie! A movie with such badly-written dialog and horrible acting that every second you spend watching it causes your brain to throb in agony. Those monsters! This train truly is the Nightmare Express.
(Chorus)
Don't stop believin'
Hold on to the feelin'
Now is the part where the song gets all inspirational and stuff. I think I finally see why this song is so popular! Even though Mr. City-Boy and Ms. Small-Town are trapped on a nightmarish train of lost souls, they “don’t stop believing” that they may eventually escape one day, and “hold on to the feeling” of sanity that has been steadily dripping away since they boarded the Nightmare Express. It’s bittersweet, really. I kind of have hope for the two poor souls now. Maybe they WILL escape... Maybe someday, if they just keep believing… they will-
Streetlight people
And just like that, all hope is lost. After filling our minds with all that “believing” nonsense, the song seems to tell us the end to this story in a single line. “Streetlight people.” Of course, how could we forget about the streetlight people? We don’t hear anything more about our two heroes after this, indicating that perhaps while they were busy “believing” in themselves and “holding on” the the tiny sliver of sanity left in their minds, the Streetlight-people burst in through the window, and carry them off into the lurking shadows, never to be seen again… This is quite a miserable end to the story of a small-town girl and a city boy from Detroit, who unfortunately decided to board the midnight train going anywhere.
So I guess we know now why this is such a popular song. After all, who doesn't like a good ghost story?
The lesson: Never board the midnight train... Image by Google.
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