Using the rudiments of prog rock and the power of an anthem, 1976's "Carry On Wayward Son" became just the single to catapult the band's Leftoverture album into a multi-million seller. While quite of few of the songs of the time where better equipped to deal with the specifics of angst, "Carry On Wayward Son" did its best work musically.
That sense is evident in the song's construction. This begins with the chorus, the hard charging guitars, and, later, lead singer Steve Walsh's vocals. Lyrically this isn't Shakespeare with its nautical metaphors and sophomoric poesy. While many like-minded songs would crumble under that fact, this oddly doesn't. That being said, Walsh is most effective away from the pretensions. Walsh and the players seem to warm up as the song goes along. Shouting a simple "don't you cry no more," he articulates the confusion the earlier lines seemed to hint at. After an ear-splitting guitar solo, Walsh goes back for more and screams another "no more." Is it overwrought? Sure, but it also sounds great. This song was also used to great effect in the 1977 film Heroes, which starred Henry Winkler, Sally Field, and Harrison Ford. While most of Leftoverture may have been forgotten to some, "Carry On Wayward Son" remains a high point of late-'70s rock.
Lyrics
Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond the 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 dreamin', I can hear them say
Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man, 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
Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Carry on, you will always remember
Carry on, nothing equals the splendor
Now your life's no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you
Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
I’m a huge 50s, 60s 70s music fan!
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