Bob Seger always seemed more like a regular guy than a Rock Star, and this moving song about pride and consistency struck a chord with working class Americans who could relate to him. Seger grew up in Michigan, paid his dues with constant touring, and stayed true to his roots.

Seger was 40 years old when this song was released, and there was a wisdom to his words that appealed to his audience. In a 1986 interview with Creem magazine, he said: "It's a matter of growing up. From the time I was 20 until I was 30, I didn't sell a whole lot of records, but I was doing a lot of rock 'n' roll. That's the way I felt at the time. Maybe during the period when I was 30 to 40, I was getting more mature, writing about older themes. I'm sure 'Like A Rock' doesn't mean much to someone who's 20, but I gotta write what I know about."

Talking about writing this song in a 1994 interview with Music Connection, Seger said, "There have been times where I've written a bunch of verses before I even know what the title is. That's what happened with 'Like A Rock.' I wrote the first three verses of that song before I even knew where I was going. Then, one day, I just fell into the 'like a rock' thing, and I thought it worked."

Lyrics

Stood there boldly

Sweatin' in the sun

Felt like a million

Felt like number one

The height of summer

I'd never felt that strong

Like a rock

I was eighteen

Didn't have a care

Working for peanuts

Not a dime to spare

But I was lean and

Solid everywhere

Like a rock

My hands were steady

My eyes were clear and bright

My walk had purpose

My steps were quick and light

And I held firmly

To what I felt was right

Like a rock

Like a rock, I was strong as I could be

Like a rock, nothin' ever got to me

Like a rock, I was something to see

Like a rock

And I stood arrow straight

Unencumbered by the weight

Of all these hustlers and their schemes

I stood proud, I stood tall

High above it all

I still believed in my dreams

Twenty years now

Where'd they go?

Twenty years

I don't know

I sit and I wonder sometimes

Where they've gone

And sometimes late at night

When I'm bathed in the firelight

The moon comes callin' a ghostly white

And I recall

I recall

Like a rock, standin' arrow straight

Like a rock, chargin' from the gate

Like a rock, carryin' the weight

Like a rock

Like a rock, the sun upon my skin

Like a rock, hard against the wind

Like a rock, I see myself again

Like a rock

Songwriters: Bob Seger

Like a Rock lyrics © Gear Publishing, Gear Publishing Company Inc, Gear Publishing Co., Inc., Hideout Records Dist. Inc., Gear Publishing Co. Inc.