What Do I Care

The speaker judges life by love rather than by public approval, money, or conventional success. At first, he imagines being measured by others and falling short of their expectations. He then turns to what matters most to him: having shared love, even for a limited time. The repeated question “What do I care?” sounds less like indifference to everything and more like confidence in what he has gained.

The “road” suggests life as a tiring journey, while the loved one’s presence makes that journey easier, giving him “a few good mile[s].” Missing a goal or making a slip are ordinary failures, but they do not erase the value of intimacy. A “bare” table is a plain image of having little food or money; the speaker says affection makes up for these material shortages.

There is a small ambiguity in “you were mine a little while”: it may refer to a love that has ended, or simply to a relationship whose time together feels precious and limited. Either way, the lyrics do not claim that hardship disappears. Instead, they suggest that love gives the speaker a reason to feel satisfied despite setbacks, scarcity, and other people’s judgments.