Day 12: This Crooked Highway (Song-a-day January)

 

Day 12: This Crooked Highway
By David Coile

Part of my daily songwriting project for January 2025

Lyrics:

This crooked highway takes me home
The sky retreats behind its leafy dome
Shadows shimmer on a crosshatch road
My destination to remain unknown

This crooked highway bends like this
My only guide being the will o' the wisp
A hidden brook or an old foot bridge
Who knows what lies there beyond the ridge

This crooked highway spins me 'round
Leaves me stranded in an empty town
No telephone, no gas to be found
No better place for me to stand my ground

This crooked highway
This crooked highway

***

Details:

This song is a day late and was written to the 7th prompt of Timmy Riordan's Fearless Songwriter program. The prompt was "This Crooked Road". I decided to use the prompt straight up this time.

I really, really wanted to write something quickly, but often times the simple songs are the hardest to finish. Poetry has been a theme this week, and I wanted to try my hand at it again. I can do snarky and clever fairly easily, or even just rhyme, but coming up with something beautiful takes some work. I wanted to capture the simple pleasures of driving aimlessly through the countryside. Then I kind of copped out with the last verse, which... well, I'm not sure what it means. It's kind of a mystery; a cliff hanger, even.

Musically, I was once again trying to do something I hadn't yet done this month, and this kind of slow, meditative guitar riff seemed to fit the bill. Definitely a mood I haven't capture yet. As simple as it sounds, it was actually a pain in the ass to play. Once again, simple is hard.

This is my last piece written for the Fearless Songwriter program. It's always fun to participate, and having the prompts really breaks things up. Thanks, Timmy!