And a Ways to Go
by 311

Album: Universal Pulse (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Vocalist Nick Hexum told the story of the song in an interview with Artist Direct: "Over the years, we've had a few songs like 'Sometimes Jacks Rule the Realm' and 'There's Always an Excuse' that go through bunch of different phases. They started as demos lying around that we found ways to fuse together. 'And A Ways To Go' is an example of that. When P-Nut does his bass solo on stage, he does this tapping thing where he syncs up his delay and goes with this wah sound. He gets into this crazy, rhythmic arpeggiating passage. I was like, 'We've got to use that on the record!' So that little piece of a bass solo became the basis for that tribal dancing outro that closes out the album. It starts chill and spacey. Then, it gets heavy and rap-rock. After that, it goes into the 'get-down.'"
  • Hexum explained the song's meaning to Artist Direct: "It's like space travel as a metaphor for personal growth. Look how far we've come and also there are so many new things to understand about yourself, demons to face, and truths to find out. It's like this spiritual journey that we're realizing we're somewhere around the middle of this big, long learning edification process that someone goes through in life. It's a look-back and a look-forward at the same time."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Chris Tomlin

Chris TomlinSongwriter Interviews

The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.

John Kay of Steppenwolf

John Kay of SteppenwolfSongwriter Interviews

Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Sugarland

SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Meet the "sassy basket" with the biggest voice in country music.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."