Hundred Million Miles from Home

Hundred Million Miles from Home

Written by Tommy Shaw, Will Evankovich

Lead Vocals by Tommy Shaw

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You can't help but be who you are
Your feet on the ground
Your head in the stars
And I can't help but love who I love
You're still on my mind
In the heavens above

And I've got my hands on the wheel of my rocket mobile
And I'm a hundred million miles from home
My head's in the stars on a Mission to Mars
And I'm a hundred million miles from home
A hundred million miles from home
And I've got to get a message to you

I can't change the things that I've done
The hearts I might have broken
The races I've won
And now it's all about the road that I'm on
My eyes on The Mission
My troubles be gone

'Cause I got my hands on the wheel of my rocket mobile
And I'm a hundred million miles from home
My head's in the stars on a Mission to Mars
And I'm a hundred million miles from home
A hundred million miles from home
And I've got to get a message to you

Now there's nothing but starlight glowing
And this pain in my heart keeps growing
Sometimes I feel like a fool
Your gravitational pull
Is gonna tear me apart
Hey, hey, yeah!

(You can't help but be who you are
Even a hundred million miles from home
I can't remember what I wanted to say
Now I'm a hundred million miles from home)

And I've got my hands on the wheel of my rocket mobile
And I'm a hundred million miles from home
My head's in the stars on a Mission to Mars
And I'm a hundred million miles from home
A hundred million miles from home
And I've got to get a message to you
And I've got to get a message
I've got to get a message to you
I've got to get a message to you

Interpretation:

Free from Earth's gravitational influence, the space ship Khedive is on a trajectory toward Mars.  The captain (nicknamed "Locomotive") is reflecting on the people he has left behind. 

You can't help but be who you are
Your feet on the ground
Your head in the stars

This mission is his obsession.

And I can't help but love who I love
You're still on my mind
In the heavens above

Despite his mission, he still loves the people he left behind and is thinking about them.

I can't change the things that I've done
The hearts I might have broken
The races I've won

He has regrets but can't change them. He has sacrificed chances at love while pursuing his career as a race car driver. 

And now it's all about the road that I'm on
My eyes on The Mission
My troubles be gone

Now that he's on this mission to Mars, that is his priority.

Now there's nothing but starlight glowing
And this pain in my heart keeps growing

On the long voyage to Mars, looking out the window at the stars, he has time to think, and reflect.

Sometimes I feel like a fool
Your gravitational pull
Is gonna tear me apart

The pull of relationships back home and the pull of his mission creat le a powerful tension within him.

I'm a hundred million miles from home
And I've got to get a message to you

There is a mission to be completed, but there may also be time to get a message home...

Even a hundred million miles from home
I can't remember what I wanted to say

The mission (his obsession) appears to be winning.