Leave The Lights On

Album: Detroit Muscle (2022)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song is Ted Nugent's tribute to his brother John, who died in 2020 at 66. "You just never stop crying," he told Songfacts. "He was such a man, such a force."

    "My heart comes out through the guitar," Nugent added. "I wrote it for his wife, son, and daughter to try to fortify them."
  • Nugent quotes part of his classic song "Stranglehold" in describing what he's trying to convey here:

    Some people think they're gonna die someday
    I got news: You never gotta go


    "If you leave your mark, which John did, then anytime you want, he can be with you," Nugent said. "It's a song of heartbreak and hope that I think every human understands and seeks, and I believe, celebrates."
  • "Leave The Lights On" is an outlier on the Detroit Muscle album, which is filled with high-energy rock and roll. But Nugent will slow it down a bit when he gets reflective. "I'm an emotional guy," he said. "Both outrageously fire-breathing celebratory and heartbreaking tears of blood."

Comments: 1

  • AnonymousJust heard this song. Cried like a baby. I've been a fan of Ted's since I was 10 and I'm 56 now. It's like he's family. I feel the pain in his playing. Takes me back to the Song "Alone" from the State of Shock album. It will hurt like hell when Ted's gone.
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