

But you get up, and you try again, or you move on to something else. You didn't accomplish what you set out to do. And she went down swingin' Yeah, she went down swingin' Well, she was over twenty-one In trouble with the law And it didn't faze her none She called her mother-in-law And said I need a little money I knew I could count on you After that night in Vegas And the hell that we went through We went down swingin' Like Benny Goodman Yeah, we went down. But to go down swingin' like Sonny Liston means you lost pretty hard, which is what Liston is now famous for. So if this young woman went down swinging like all these swing band leaders, that just means she was dedicated to her art like they were. Ali knocked Liston out cold with one punch. Liston was a boxer, and famously got his *** handed to him by a young Muhammad Ali (when he was still going by the name Cassius Clay). Swingin Lyrics by Tom Petty from the Echo album - including song video, artist biography, translations and more: Well, she was standing by the highway In. "She went down swingin'" like all these famous swing band leaders, most of whom died doing what they loved. This is how we are supposed to understand that she's trying to get into some kind of performing arts as a singer or musician, even though that's just symbolic of whatever it is that's in your dreams. All the other name drops were swing band leaders or musicians. We know that because of the last name that's dropped: Sonny Liston. The woman finally gets to where she's going and takes her shot. That's a bit representative too, because sometimes, our bad times are on display for others to see. it doesn't matter what it is, just that in that case, she didn't go through it alone, her mother in law was with her. Some kind of "hell" she experienced in Vegas. The young woman has been through some trying times already, despite her young age. If she can't drive to where she's going (to take her shot at her dream) then she'll hitch. She begins hitchhiking near a highway, probably because her car broke down, which puts her at a very low point. The girl in the song is trying to make something of herself, probably as a performer or singer of some kind due to all the swing-band name drops in the song. I think the song is ultimately about the loss of a dream because life happens sometimes. I wish ma could see me now, she'd be so proud of me And she said, "Hey, nice to meet you, are you goin' my way?"
