the meaning of the song LODI

I know that there are a few towns in The US with the name LODI - but what does he mean when he sings "stuck in a Lodi again" ? is it a snipe at the small town that he is currently in and calling it Lodi?

On one of the live CD's of the CCR box JF mentions that the song is "a sad, sad song about a bad, bad photographer" although I cannot see how it relates to the lyrics as it is more suited to himself

Seekin' my fame and fortune, lookin' for a pot of gold.

Somewhere I lost connections, ran out of songs to play.

If I only had a dollar, for ev'ry song I've sung.
And ev'ry time I've had to play while people sat there drunk. [I always thought he sang while people sat their throne - equally suitable IMHO]

One line has always confused me tho:

Rode in on the greyhound, I’ll be walkin’ out if I go.

Is the greyhound a metaphor or a dub for a transport system?

Lodi:
A city of central California north of Stockton. It is a processing center in a rich farming area. Population: 51,874

It's about a musician who's out of cash and stuck in a small town away from his home. "Rode in on the Greyhound" is coming into town on the bus, and "I'll be walking out if I go" is not having enough money for another bus ticket.

"A sad, sad song about a bad, bad photographer" could be about being busted in the town of Lodi, CA and therefore losing what is left of his money while he is being photographed for police records. Only he doesn't mention in the song about being jailed - wait let me listen again before I say for sure --- Well he does mention " I came into town a one night stand" and "I was just passing thru, must be 7 months or more - ran out of time and money, looks like they took my friend". That could be a lot of things. What was his friend (guitar?) and who were they who took it (cops?) and why did one night turn into 7 months + (a woman, a bust? - I don't buy the I-went-broke-in-one-day story unless other things happened). The radical conservatism of the 60's and the fact that people like John Fogerty were HATED by the small-brainers of the time plus the weirdness of small western towns in that era, all makes me wonder The mystery of this song is why John Fogerty is a one-man-hit-writing-legend. I've wondered since 1970 what this song means. This is my latest stab at trying to figure. Every time I rethink this song I like it better - and the mystery draws me in further. What a genius!!
He does say "stuck in a Lodi again".I suppose "a Lodi" means every little sh-t sucking small brainer town in the world - I should be able to figure that one out - I live in "a Lodi".

I think this song really depends on your life experience in order to interpret it. My interpretation:

A person came to U.S./any big city to seek a better future but he has been here for eight years alone. He thought he was happy being in U.S. but sometimes at night he felt alone and now he realize he has been missing something in life more important than fame and fortune.

Anyway, this song definitely sing about how I feel right now.

[freebird]

easy to understand... Lodi is a woman
John falls in love with Lodi ,and you got the story wrote in a song XD

the chorus is quotable about something of my life u.u

[Javier Pérez]

Hi!
Did you realize that LODI at the inverse is IDOL!!
Could this give a sense to the song?
Cheers

[freebird]

IDOL?
it doesn't have sense

Lodi is a woman..

[Mary Lou]

In a radio interview, John Fogerty said when he was young his parents took him and his brother to a camp at Lodi lake (called Smith lake then) and they hated camping there. So later on they wrote a song about Lodi using their old hate towards the place. Although John Fogerty was only 23 years old at that time, he could see the reverse side of fame and fortune - things you'll never happen to see in a small towns like Lodi, California.

I don't think anything more complicated than this was meant.

[freebird]

well... mary lou said the truth.... I go to sleep XD
mary lou WINS!