3 of the Best Opening Lines From Tom Petty Songs

There is something just so quintessentially American about rock artist Tom Petty. His songs are woven into the tapestry of the country like the stars and stripes are woven into the flag. He’s poetic but not highfalutin. He’s classic rock but he’s not over the top. And he’s necessary without his songs feeling pompous or overworked.

Videos by American Songwriter

Indeed, Petty is an American treasure. And one of the main reasons for that are his song lyrics. Here below, we wanted to explore three top examples. Specifically, how three of Petty’s songs begin and catch your ear right at the outset. Indeed, these are three of the best Tom Petty opening lines from his classic rock songs.

[RELATED: 3 Hit Songs Written but Not Originally Performed by Tom Petty]

“Mary Jane’s Last Dance” from Greatest Hits (1993)

Tom Petty is excellent at telling stories. His details are fresh and his songs never overwrought. He knows how to single out people and talk about their specific lives and how they are both unique and stand-ins for so many of us and our own lives. This track is a prime example. While Petty is singing about a woman who grew up in Indiana, there is also a double entendre given her name. Mary Jane has long been a code name for cannabis. But whoever he’s singing about, the track catches you at the outset as Petty sings,

She grew up in an Indiana town
Had a good lookin’ mama who never was around
But she grew up tall and she grew up right
With them Indiana boys on an Indiana night

“American Girl” from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1977)

Another song about another gal from America, this track is almost Petty singing through the looking glass. He is so American it makes sense he could write a song about a woman who is, too. This track, which he released in 1977 with his band the Heartbreakers, is today one of his most famous tracks. And it all kicks off with an excellent opening few lines that sum up the song’s protagonist. Indeed, Petty sings,

Well, she was an American girl
Raised on promises
She couldn’t help thinkin’ that there
Was a little more to life
Somewhere else

“Free Fallin’” from Full Moon Fever (1989)

Let’s make it a trifecta! On this track, Petty opens talking about a young woman. She loves her mother, horses, and America, too. Singing over jangly acoustic guitars, Petty captures our hearts by describing someone we all know but somehow we all want to know more of as soon as Petty opens his mouth. On the track, which was released in 1989 on his LP Full Moon Fever, Petty opens our hearts with the lyrics,

She’s a good girl, loves her mama
Loves Jesus and America too
She’s a good girl, who’s crazy ’bout Elvis
Loves horses and her boyfriend too

Photo by Jason Merritt/FilmMagic