The songs Tom Petty called his favourites

As a result of these struggles, many of his songs reflect the mindset of an artist constantly fighting for himself, like ‘American Girl’, which was written hastily by Petty during a moment of reflection about pursuing your dreams. Noting the struggles of someone “raised on promises”, ‘American Girl’ came together in an apartment next to a freeway in Los Angeles, when the passing cars would sometimes sound like “waves crashing on the beach”.

“The words just came tumbling out very quickly,” Petty told the Los Angeles Times in 2002, “And it was the start of writing about people who are longing for something else in life, something better than they have.”

He added: “It was just a story when I wrote it. In my mind, the girl was looking for the strength to move on—and she found it. It’s one of my favourites.”

Petty also incorporates different variations of struggle in many of his other favourites, signposting his perspective on the idea through personal experiences and storytelling techniques. ‘Listen To Her Heart’, for instance, mirrored the pursuit of following your dreams in ‘American Girl’, with another narrative about a woman who follows only what her heart wants her to do and nothing else. ‘Refugee’, too, tackles the beauty of freedom and choice as “a reaction to the pressures of the music business”.

Petty wrote the song when he grew “angry” with ABC Records after they tried to sell his contract to MCA Records without him knowing, using his urge to kick back in any way he could with a song about being resilient against the music industry’s greed. “I was in this defiant mood,” he said, “I wasn’t so conscious of it then, but I can look back and see what was happening.” While this came from a real, almost tangible experience for Petty, others came from the struggles of others, like Janis Joplin, who inspired him to create ‘The Waiting’ about not knowing whether your dreams will come true.

While these threads also define the sounds and stories of others, like ‘Straight Into Darkness’, ‘Southern Accents’, ‘The Best of Everything’, and ‘You Don’t Know How It Feels’, the most enigmatic seems to be Room At The Top’, which temporarily diverted from Petty’s usual directness to explore something more ambiguously charming. Navigating the perils of disillusionment, the track was so dark about Petty’s struggles that he admitted he “can’t even play it.”

Still, much like the other songs, it became a snapshot in time, reminding Petty of the power of remaining authentic even when compositions reflect fleeting emotions, memories, or momentary challenges. Ultimately, this made his music stand out, even when the music industry sought to venture in an entirely different sonic direction. Instead, Petty remained poised at all corners, ready to expose the inner workings of his genius mind.

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