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Carry On Wayward Son
Kansas
Leftoverture
Leftoverture
RaitingSR
Supervision Recommended
Information
Released 1976
Genre Progressive
Language English
Source Rock Band 2
also in Unplugged
Available September 14, 2008
Playable in
Rock Band 2
Rock Band 3
Rock Band Blitz
Difficulty
Band redReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevil
Basic Pro
Guitar 5FcircleFcircleFcircleFcircleFcircle 5FcircleFcircleFcircleFcircleFcircle
Bass 5FcircleFcircleFcircleFcircleFcircle 5FcircleFcircleFcircleFcircleFcircle
Drums 2FcircleFcircleUFCirlceUFCirlceUFCirlce 2FcircleFcircleUFCirlceUFCirlceUFCirlce
Keys 5FcircleFcircleFcircleFcircleFcircle redReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevil
Vocals 5FcircleFcircleFcircleFcircleFcircle 5FcircleFcircleFcircleFcircleFcircle
Details
Male singer
Guitar Solo
Keys Solo
Vocal Solo
Vocal Cowbell
3-part Harmonies



Carry On Wayward Son is a song by Kansas which was written by Kansas guitarist Kerry Livgren. According to Livgren, the song was not written to express anything specifically religious, though it certainly expresses spiritual searching and other ideas. People have attributed all sorts of alternative meanings to it, but he suggests taking the song as it is.

This song can be seen as the continuation of the last song of Kansas' previous album Masque. As stated in the last verse of "The Pinnacle":

"I stood where no man goes/ABOVE THE DIN I ROSE
Life is amusing though we are losing
Drowned in tears of awe..."

By definition in the Cambridge dictionary, "Din" is a loud unpleasant confused noise which lasts for a long time. The first line of "Carry On Wayward Son" is: "Once I rose above the noise and confusion." (Thanks, Rich - Trenton, NJ)

This was the group's first major hit. It remains a staple of Classic Rock radio.

This song has appeared in several movies, including Heroes (1977), Happy Gilmore (1996) and Anchorman - The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004).

The Oak Ridge Boys recorded this for the album When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear. Cevin Soling, who put the compilation together, said: "The Oak Ridge Boys, I wanted them to do Nine Inch Nails' 'Closer,' and I had this wonderful arrangement worked out... this very 'Elvira' Country version of the Nine Inch Nails' 'Closer,' with all the doo-wops and poppa oom maus and everything. I could not wait to get them in the studio to work on that. I had alternate lyrics, you know, but they were still uncomfortable with doing that. So that kind of went back and forth and somehow "Wayward Son" got thrown out there. I don't remember exactly who picked that one, but generally I'd give the artist a few choices and they sort of pick among them." (Check out our interview with Cevin Soling.)

This song is featured in the South Park episode "Guitar Queer-O." In the episode, Stan and Kyle become obsessed with the video game Guitar Hero and often play to "Carry On Wayward Son." The song is played throughout the episode. (Thanks, Matthew - Hawthorne, NJ)

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Video[]

Rock_Band_2_-_Carry_On_My_Wayward_Son_-_Full_Band_Gold_Stars

Rock Band 2 - Carry On My Wayward Son - Full Band Gold Stars

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