Homeward Bound “Homeward Bound” can refer to a few different things, so here are some possibilities: Song by Simon & Garfunkel – A classic folk-rock song from 1966, written by Paul Simon. It reflects the longing for home while being on the road.
Sample lyrics:
- “Homeward bound, I wish I was homeward bound…”
- Film Series – Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993) is a family adventure film about two dogs and a cat traveling across the wilderness to reunite with their owners. It was followed by a sequel, Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco (1996).
- General Meaning – The phrase itself means returning home, often with a sense of nostalgia or relief.
Simon & Garfunkel’s Folk Classic 1966
- Written by: Paul Simon during a lonely train ride in England, missing his then-girlfriend (Kathy Chitty) and longing for New York.
- Album: Appeared on Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.
Key Lyrics:
- Legacy: A quintessential road song, covered by artists like Glen Campbell and Miranda Lambert.
The Homeward Bound Films (Disney Adventures)
A. Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)
- Plot: Three pets—Shadow (a wise Golden Retriever), Chance (a reckless American Bulldog), and Sassy (a sassy Himalayan cat)—journey through the Sierra Nevada mountains to find their family.
- Remake: Of Disney’s 1963 film The Incredible Journey, based on Sheila Burnford’s 1961 novel.
- Plot: The pets get stranded at SFO airport and must navigate urban dangers (including a street-savvy bulldog voiced by Sinbad).
- Theme Song: “Wildege” by Olivia Newton-John.
- Fun Fact: The films used real animals with dubbed voices, not CGI!
Broader Cultural Meanings
- Literature: The phrase evokes themes of nostalgia, exile, and return (e.g., Odysseus in The Odyssey).
- Space Travel: NASA uses “homeward bound” for spacecraft returning to Earth.
- Military/Travel: Often symbolizes the emotional pull of home after long absences.
- The Train Station Myth: Paul Simon wrote the song at Widnes Railway Station (England), but locals claim it was actually composed at the more dismal Liverpool Lime Street Station.
Alternate Versions:
- A rare demo tape exists with just Simon’s guitar and a harmonica—starker and more melancholic.
- The 1966 live version on The Concert in Central Park (1982) features a crowd singing along, turning it into a communal anthem.
Cover Trivia:
- Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (punk cover) sped it up into a raucous anthem.
- Cher recorded a haunting, synth-heavy version in 1975.
Homeward Bound Films – Behind the Scenes
Animal Training Secrets
- Shadow’s “Old Age”: The crew dyed the retriever’s fur gray for the final emotional reunion scene.
- Chance’s Ad-Libs: Michael J. Fox improvised lines like, “I’m gonna live forever!”—keeping his Back to the Future charm.
Deleted Scenes & Script Changes
- Originally, Chance was supposed to fall in love with a coyote, but test audiences found it too dark.
- A subplot about the pets being mistaken for strays and nearly euthanized was cut for being too intense for kids.
The “Homeward Bound” Trope in Global Culture
- Ancient Myth: The Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh features a hero’s desperate return home—one of the oldest “homeward bound” narratives.
- Sci-Fi Twist: The Interstellar soundtrack includes a track called “Home” as a nod to this universal longing.
- Military Slang: WWII pilots called their final mission before leave the “homeward bound leg.”
Philosophical & Psychological Angles
- Ecocriticism: The films subtly critique urban sprawl (the pets flee San Francisco’s chaos for rural simplicity).
Deep Cut for Superfans
- Disney’s Lost Sequel Pitch: A scrapped Homeward Bound 3 would’ve sent the pets to space (yes, really).
Simon & Garfunkel’s Song Nuclear Level Nerdy Details
A. The “Real” Station Controversy
- Widnes Station’s plaque calls itself the “inspiration,” but railway historians note:
- The song mentions “a strip of lights” and “a dull, dark station”—Widnes had one platform lamp in 1965.
- Lime Street Station (Liverpool) had the neon signs Simon describes, but he denies writing it there.
- Conspiracy Theory: He might’ve merged memories of multiple lonely stops.
B. The Kathy Chitty Saga
- Their breakup fueled his “Homeward Bound” vs. “America” duality—one craves home, the other flees it.
- Tragic Twist: Chitty became a recluse; in a rare 2000s interview, she said the song “felt like his ghost, not mine.”
C. Studio Sorcery
- The iconic guitar riff was played on a 12-string (though live versions often use 6-string).
- The original master tape has Art Garfunkel’s unused harmony track—10% higher pitch, deemed “too angelic.”
Homeward Bound Films: Chaos on Set
A. Animal Rebellion
- The cat playing Sassy hated Michael J. Fox’s voice—hissed whenever his ADR played. Trainers had to hide speakers.
- Chance’s “mud slide” scene used chocolate pudding (real mud stained the bulldog’s fur).
- Shadow’s “stuck in the pit” scene took 3 weeks—the dog kept falling asleep between takes.
B. Deeper Cut: The Novel vs. Film
- The cat’s book name? Tao (changed to Sassy for “girl power” vibes in the ‘90s).
C. The Lost Homeward Bound 3 Script (2001)
- Plot: Pets stow away on a SpaceX-style rocket, meet astro-aliens who misinterpret barks as diplomacy.
- Why axed? 9/11 made “journeying home” narratives too raw.
The “Homeward Instinct” in Nature & Science
A. Animal Homing Phenomena
- Pigeons: Use magnetoreception to navigate—Shadow’s “sense of direction” isn’t totally fictional.
B. Human Brain Wiring
- fMRI studies show nostalgia activates the hippocampus (memory) and ventral striatum (reward).
- “The Odyssey Effect”: Psychologists argue prolonged journeys home (like the pets’ or Odysseus’) satisfy our need for “effortful redemption.”
Homeward Bound as a Political Metaphor
- Brexit: Pro-Leave campaigns used the phrase to evoke “taking Britain back.”
- Space Race: Apollo 8’s crew quoted the song while orbiting the Moon (NASA Archive, 1968).
Ultimate Rabbit Hole: Find the “Real” Home
- Song: Simon’s “home” was likely New York’s Kew Gardens Hills neighborhood (his teen hangout).
- Films: The house is in Sonoma County, CA—fans still pilgrimage there. The current owners installed a pet statue garden.
The Homeward Bound Multiverse Lost & Imagined Versions
A. Simon & Garfunkel’s Darkverse Timeline
- Original Lyrics Found in a 1965 Notebook:
- “Homeward bound / But the home I seek / Is a chimney’s streak / On a dead man’s street.”
(Cut for being too bleak—replaced with “movies and factories.”) - The Disco Remix: In 1979, a studio engineer accidentally pressed the master tape at +20% speed. Simon heard it and muttered, “Never let that leave this room.” (It didn’t.)
B. Homeward Bound III’s Secret Drafts
- Version 1: The pets die in the wilderness, reincarnated as constellations (Disney CEO: “Absolutely not.”)
- Version 3: Sassy leads a Marxist revolution of strays against pet ownership. (Yes, really.)
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