The road in "A Walking Song" has been seen as a metaphor for destiny and experience for both Bilbo and Frodo that begins at their home Bag End. According to Tom Shippey, the name Bag End is a direct translation of French "cul-de-sac" meaning a dead end or a road with only one outlet. The journeys of Bilbo and Frodo have been interpreted as such a confined road as they both start and end their respective adventures in Bag End. According to Don D. Elgin, "A Walking Song" is "a song about the roads that go ever on until they return to at last to the familiar things they have always known."