I loved Tom Petty.
Loved his nasally voice, his scruffy look, his gorgeous lyrics about American girls. His songs about breaking up and making up and everything in between.
I loved that there was no one else like him on the planet.
I have most of his albums. Saw him in concert a couple of times.
I don’t know that I have a favorite Petty song.
Maybe “American Girl.” I’ll turn that up when it comes on the radio.
Maybe “Free Fallin’.” I mean, who doesn’t love to sing that song, car windows rolled down, highway stretched out, at the top of her lungs?
I wonder, when I listened to Petty back in the day, did I want to be that girl? You know the one.
That girl raised on promises.
That good girl, who loved Jesus and America, too.
Or, did I want that girl? Want her to be mine and only mine.
Looking back, it’s muddled. Sometimes, the only thing I can remember is how my heart ached a lot of the time.
But I like to think that, even back then, I knew there was a little more to life somewhere else.
After all it was a great big world.
RIP #TomPetty
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Do you have a favorite Tom Petty song or memory?
The Flannel Files 
The Waiting. Because it IS the hardest part, no matter what it is you’re waiting for. Thanks for the loverly words about Tom Petty!
So many great songs. I love that one, too. And yes, it is so true. The waiting is the hardest part.
“I won’t back down” became my fave as we sang it in allied music therapy in the hospital. I was hospitalized when we all learned of his passing. There was palpable grief in the mess hall when the news came on the TV. The lessons in this life are so fucking tough. I will not back down!
Another great song. Hard not to sing along when that one comes on the radio. Glad you are home!