we can drive it home

"One Headlight"
Single by The Wallflowers
from the album Bringing Down the Horse
B-side	"6th Avenue Heartache" (Acoustic) "Angel on My Bike" (Live)
Released	February 24, 1997
Format	CD, 7" vinyl
Recorded	1996
Genre	Alternative rock, roots rock
Length	5:13 (Album Version) 4:38 (Single Version)
Label	Interscope
Writer(s)	Jakob Dylan
Producer	T-Bone Burnett
The Wallflowers singles chronology
"6th Avenue Heartache" (1996) "One Headlight" (1997) "The Difference" (1997)

"One Headlight" is a rock song performed by American recording band The Wallflowers. The song was written by lead singer Jakob Dylan, and produced by T-Bone Burnett. It was released on February 24, 1997 via Interscope Records, as the second single from the bands' 1996 album, Bringing Down the Horse. In 2000, the song was listed at #58 on Rolling Stone and MTVs list of "100 Greatest Pop Songs of All Time".[1]

[edit] Composition

The lyrics tell a fragmentary story about a former friend and her death, and the singer's emotions in the aftermath. The use of strong words and images and the incomplete story have resulted in many different interpretations of the song, which include suicide, drug abuse, death of a lover, death of one's mother, having breast cancer and/or depression.

Jakob Dylan, the lead singer and songwriter of The Wallflowers, has said that the song is about "the death of ideas"[2] and that the many metaphors and images in the lyrics were not meant to be taken literally. Dylan explains that he and the band had very little support when they were putting together the record, hence the shout-out "c'mon try a little." The last two lines of the chorus "we can drive it home / with one headlight" are a reference to how the band were able to get through with their ideas despite being hindered (i.e. with one headlight) by the lack of support.