My second theory is that this is a song about politics. The songwriter (Bob Seger) has radical views about politics and therefore was constantly having to "run against the wind." Others may find his political views overly idealistic and may not take him seriously. He portrays how much of an idealist he was in the beginning. Now he still holds on to those ideals but knows that he can no longer make as much of a difference anymore as he thought. He now keeps those political views to himself but still holds on to them very strongly.

Overall, my first theory is that this song is about a man that as a youth was full of optimism and believed the world was full of possiblities. He was unafraid to go in his own direction and live life the way he thought it was meant to live. Then somewhere in the transition into adulthood he lost sight of those ideals and who he was and didn't realizes it until years later. At the end of the song, the man concludes that he is deep down, still that young man he once was "running against the wind."

The first verse is about him when he was young. It shows us the type of person he was by telling us about one of his first loves. When you are young and in love you believe that it will last forever such as stated in the lyrics "And I remember what she said to me/How she swore that it never would end." Seger also uses imagery to describe the intesity of their relationship and how full of passion it was by comparing it to "a wildfire out of control," and finally tells us that this "wildfire" burns itself out in the end. Seger also emphasises how optimistic he was by using lyrics such as "the mountains that we moved" which also show how much power love seemed to have to him back then and how he thought nothing was impossible.

The chorus "running against the wind" references the fact that he was unafraid to live the life he wanted. The phrase "running against the wind" is also a metaphor for freedom since wind is something that seems free to do as it pleases.

The next verse takes place in the present. It is where the man realizes that he's forgotten who he is and realizes that he had taken a wrong turn somewhere on the road to adulthood. He looks back at who he was and saw where he left his old ideals behind. By the end of the song the sings "I'm older now and still running/Against the wind" which implies that he has realized that deep down he is still the same man he was years ago.

My second theory is that this is a song about politics, about a man with radical political views who was all about fighting the system and absolutely certain that one person could make a difference, but started to realize as he got older that he alone could not make a difference so he gave up fighting and drifted away from those political views. Then in the end he realizes that even though he won't be able to change anything that he still deep down holds the same political views that he did when he was young even though he is no longer voicing them.

The next four lines in the second verse ("I was living to run and running to live/Never worried about paying or even how much owed/Movin eight miles a minute for months at a time/Breaking all the rules that would bend") refer back to his days of being a drifter when he had not a care in the world. Then the last lines ("I began to find myself searching/Searching for shelter again and again/Against the wind") refer to how he started to avoid going in his own direction and being his own person.

So basically, this verse is about his realization that he lost himself and how and when he lost himself.

The next verse is about how the man makes his transition into adulthood and suddenly finds himself dealing with the obligations of everyday adult life as stated in the lines "I've got so much more to think about/Deadlines and commitments/What to leave in and what to leave out." He also says "And the years rolled slowly past/And I found myself alone/Surrounded by strangers I thought were my friends/I found myself further and further from my home." These three lines refer to when he had the first realization that he was no longer the same person that he was years ago, or that he had lost himself which he says in the next few lines: "I found myself further and further from my home/And I guess I lost my way/There where oh so many roads." 'Home' refers to who he really is and the fact that he lost his way because of the "oh so many roads" is due to the confusion that comes from making the transition into adulthood when you're trying to figure out what to do with your life and I think that he's trying to say that he lost himself somwhere in all that confusion.

The first verse uses some interesting imagery the most prominent and ambiguous being: "The mountains that we moved" and "Caught like a wildfire out of control/'Til there was nothing left to burn and nothing left to prove."

The first one I would like to discuss is the lyric "The mountains that we moved." I believe that this is refering to the power and intesity that exist in young relationships. I also believe that this could be refering to the optimism that comes with youth and love that makes you believe that anything is possible.

The second couple of lyrics that I would like to delve into are the lyrics: "Caught like a wildfire out of control/'Til there was nothing left to burn and nothing left to prove." I believe the wildfire is a symbol of passion because, like fire, passion is a very intense thing--especially the kind of love you find in young relationships. Not to mention a fire can also symbolize love. Also the fact that Seger uses an out of control wildfire as a symbol of passion as opposed to a plain old fire emphasizes how passionate the relationship was and says that it was full of unbridled passion. The phrase "til there was nothing left to burn" refers to the dying out of the passion in their relationship and in turn, the love. Young relationships seem to be based on passion. Sometimes thats just what young people think love is. After the passion dies out they don't realize that it's something they have to work at so the relationship dies as well.

Another ambiguous phrase is "nothing left to prove." This, I believe, refers to the fact that when you're young and in a relationship, you feel you have to prove something to the your partner, that you really love them.

Now the first and most important metaphor that I would like to explore is the phrase "running against the wind." I believe this phrase is a methaphor for rebelling against the status quo, and what he is expected to contribute as a valued member of society.

Another thing that the phrase "running against the wind" might symbolize is freedom. Wind alone is a good metaphor for freedom since it seems to blow back and forth without any regard for anything else. So basically this piece is about going against the grain and doing whatever you please without worrying about anything else.

As everyone can see I have decided to change my song. This was mostly due to the fact that there wasn't much to analyze in my previous piece. This song, I believe, is about a drifter, or a man reflecting back on his days of being a drifter. Or it might just be a man reflecting back on the days when he was young and the world seemed full of opportunities and nothing was impossible.

In the first verse he reflects back on what seems like one of his first loves or probably his most serious love when he was young and how he thought it would never end as we often do when we're young and in love.

The second verse in he song is about how he made the transition into adulthood or how he became tired of his life as a drifter and decided to become a part of the rest of society. It tells of how he started to feel lonely and exhausted from "running against the wind."

In the end of the song the man comes to the conclusion that even though he has taken on the resposibilities of a normal adult, deep down he his still that same lost boy that he was years ago "running against the wind."

Lyrics

Seems like yesturday
But it was long ago
Janey was lovely she was the queen of my nights
There in the darkness with the radio playing low
And the secrets that we shared
The mountains that we moved
Caught like a wildfire out of control
'Til there was nothing left to burn and nothing left to prove
And I remember what she said to me
How she swore that it never would end
I remember how she held me oh so tight
I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then

Against the wind
We were running against the wind
We were young we were strong we were runnin'
Against the wind

The years rolled slowly past
And I found myself alone
Surrounded by strangers I thought were my friends
I found myself further and further from my home
And I guess I lost my way
There were oh so many roads
I was livin' to run and runnin' to live
Never worried about payin' or even how much I owed
Movin' eight miles a minute for months at a time
Breaking all the rules that would bend
I began to find myself searching
Searching for shelter again and again

Against the wind
We were running against the wind
We were young we were strong we were running
Against the wind

Well those drifters' days are past me now
I've got so much more to think about
Deadlines and commitments
What to leave in and what to leave out

Against the wind
I keep runnin' against the wind
I'm older now but still runnin' against the wind
Well I'm older now and still runnin'
Against the wind
Against the wind
Against the wind

Still runnin'
I'm still runnin' against the wind
I'm still runnin'
I'm still runnin' against the wind
Still runnin'
Runnin' against the wind
Runnin' against the wind
See the young man run
Watch the young man run
Watch the young man runnin'
He'll be runnin' against the wind
Let the cowboys ride
Let the cowboys ride
They'll be ridin' against the wind
Against the wind...