On an Instagram post, Machine Gun Kelly wrote "We worked on 'Lonely Road' for 2 years, 8 different studios, 4 different countries, changed the key 4 times".[1][2]
Composition and lyrics
The song centers on a man whose life is resulting in problems and failure and is now lonely. He reminisces on the joyful moments of his past, wondering what led to his current condition.[3] The lyrics focus on struggling with love relationships, as well as alcohol addiction to cope with losses.[2][4][5][6] Machine Gun Kelly sings in the melody of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" on the chorus: "Lonely road take me home / To the place where we went wrong / Where'd you go now?/ It's been a ghost town / And I'm still here / All alone".[3][5]
Music video
An official music video was directed by Sam Cahill and premiered on July 26, 2024. It stars Machine Gun Kelly and Jelly Roll along with their significant others, Megan Fox and Bunnie XO respectively, and depicts them as mechanics who are struggling to provide for their families. The visual opens with the artists attending a funeral, dressed in all black, before working alongside each other at an automobile repair shop in matching tan jumpsuits. In other scenes, Kelly kisses his pregnant wife's stomach, and Jelly Roll stands in a field as he sings and consoles his wife after they receive a letter confirming an infertility diagnosis. Eventually, after the two couples have a dinner party together, MGK hatches a plan to rob a bank, while Jelly Roll, being an ex-convict, refuses to return to a life of crime.[1][2][5][6] MGK later leaves on his motorcycle and commits the robbery.[2][5][6][7] He is arrested, but not before delivering the stolen money to his wife.[1][5][6][7] Eight months later, MGK is visited in prison by his wife with their newborn daughter,[1][5] and kisses his child through the glass.[5][6] The baby girl in the video is another woman's child and Megan Fox is not actually pregnant.[7]
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 43. týden 2024 in the date selector. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
