Highway Song (James Taylor song)

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"Highway Song"
Folk Rock
Length3:17
LabelCapricorn Records
Songwriter(s)James Taylor
Producer(s)Johnny Sandlin
"Highway Song"
Warner Bros. Records
Songwriter(s)James Taylor
Producer(s)Peter Asher

"Highway Song" is a song written by

Alex Taylor on his 1971 album With Friends and Neighbors and as the lead single from the album. It was also released by James Taylor later that year on his album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon
.

Lyrics and music

Taylor wrote "Highway Song" in 1970 and he began playing it in live concerts during 1970, well before the release on Mudslide Slim and the New Horizon.[1][2]

Gram Parson's "Grievous Angel" as being a "first cousin" to "Highway Song" in its "lament about purposelessness and need for love."[6]

The lyrics begin with the lines "Father let us build a boat and sail away/There's nothing for you here/And brother let us throw our lot out upon the sea/It's been done before."

fundamentalist Christian context.[4] Gerson points out that although the lyrics refer to traveling on the highway, the title "Highway Song" refers to a song he says he heard along the way, and not to the lyrics of the song itself, making this a metasong.[3]

A simple, repeated

Sisyphean doom."[3] Gerson also points out that the song's "swooping bass line," played by Leland Sklar on James Taylor's recording, also contributes to the song's sense of inescapable despair.[3]

Billboard described "Highway Song" as one of James Taylor's best songs.[7] Critic Al Rudis described it as "great" song, while preferring Alex Taylor's version to James'.[8]

Alex Taylor version

Alex Taylor released "Highway Song" on With Friends and Neighbors and as a single prior to the release of his brother James' version.

blues feel.[14]

References

  1. ISBN 9780306819865
    .
  2. ^ Tiegel, E. (December 12, 1970). "Talent in Action". Billboard. p. 28. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Gerson, B. (June 24, 1971). "Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  4. ^
    ISBN 9780857120069
    .
  5. ^ Neil, D. (June 18, 2004). "Songs of the Road a Disappearing Breed". Bangor Daily News. pp. S1–S2. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  6. ISBN 9780306806827
    .
  7. ^ "Billboard Album Reviews". Billboard. May 8, 1971. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  8. ^ a b c Rudis, A. (May 8, 1971). "Taylor Keeps Tight Hold on Lullaby Championship". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 55. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  9. ^ "Top 60 Pop Spotlight: Alex Taylor-Highway Song". Billboard. March 27, 1971. p. 58. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  10. ^ Glassenburg, B. (March 27, 1971). "What's Happening". Billboard. p. 30. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  11. ^ Crouse, T. (February 18, 1971). "The First Family of the New Rock". Rolling Stone. p. 36.
  12. ^ "Single Product" (PDF). Record World. March 20, 1971. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
  13. Tuscaloosa News
    . p. 6E. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  14. ^ Kirby, F. (March 20, 1971). "Alex Taylor, Cathy Smith; Village Gaslight, N.Y." Billboard. p. 20. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
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