About the song
Paul Simon’s Homeward Bound has long been a poignant meditation on the longing for home, originally penned during his early days as a troubadour, crisscrossing England’s chilly railway stations. Over the decades, its themes of weariness, nostalgia, and the search for solace have only deepened, resonating with anyone who has ever felt the ache of distance—whether from a place, a person, or a past self. Now, in this remarkable rendition with Willie Nelson, Homeward Bound takes on an even more profound weight, as two legendary voices, each steeped in their own musical and personal histories, breathe new life into Simon’s timeless composition.
Simon and Nelson stand as icons in their respective realms—Simon, the architect of poetic folk-pop that has chronicled the American experience with precision and grace, and Nelson, the wandering outlaw poet of country music, whose voice carries the dust and wisdom of the road. Their pairing on Homeward Bound is not just a meeting of titans; it is a convergence of two worldviews shaped by decades of storytelling, travel, and reflection.
From the first notes, there is a quiet reverence in their delivery. Simon’s voice, ever articulate and measured, still possesses the clarity and emotional depth that made his early work so affecting. Nelson, in contrast, brings a world-worn, almost conversational phrasing, his signature behind-the-beat style lending the song an air of lived experience. When he sings of being “sick and tired of love,” it is not the lament of a young man, impatient and restless, but the sigh of someone who has seen love in all its forms—joyous, fleeting, painful, and redemptive.
Musically, the arrangement is intimate yet expansive, weaving elements of folk and country with a delicate touch. Nelson’s signature nylon-string guitar, Trigger, adds its distinctive, warm twang, a subtle counterpoint to Simon’s more structured picking style. The harmonies, understated yet deeply moving, emphasize the song’s universal yearning without overwhelming its simplicity.
In this version of Homeward Bound, there is a sense that the song is no longer merely about a young musician longing to return home, but about the journey itself—how time transforms our sense of belonging, and how, in the end, home is often less of a destination and more of a memory, carried in the voices of those who share the road with us.
Video
Lyrics
I’m sitting in the railway station.
Got a ticket for my destination.
On a tour of one-night stands my suitcase and guitar in hand.
And every stop is neatly planned for a poet and a one-man band.
Homeward bound,
I wish I was,
Homeward bound,
Home where my thought’s escaping,
Home where my music’s playing,
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me.
Every day’s an endless stream
Of cigarettes and magazines.
And each town looks the same to me,
The movies and the factories
And every stranger’s face I see reminds me that I long to be,
Homeward bound,
I wish I was,
Homeward bound,
Home where my thought’s escaping,
Home where my music’s playing,
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me.
Tonight I’ll sing my songs again,
I’ll play the game and pretend.
But all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness in harmony I need someone to comfort me.
Homeward bound,
I wish I was,
Homeward bound,
Home where my thought’s escaping,
Home where my music’s playing,
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me.
Silently for me.
