This morning on Facebook, Juan Holliday was asking if people preferred a song that didn’t make rational sense but conveyed a feeling to a song that told a very specific story. The first answer was (I assume) a sarcastic “both!” I probably would not treat that as such a facile answer if I had been the first person to post it. In truth, I think I prefer a good story to a funky mood. That may be why I’ve never really latched on to Pink Floyd or Radiohead. All of which says a lot more about me than it does about Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Juan Holliday, or Lyle Lovett.
How did Brother Lyle get dragged into all of this anyway? Well, Rosa Lee and I were having yet another conversation about Lyle and how she had a ticket stub from one of his shows tucked into her prayer book. Is that odd? It only now occurs to me to ask the question. Seemed perfectly appropriate this morning, as we are nearing the end of the road as far as Advent goes. I made some quip about all of Brother Lyle’s songs being Advent songs, but I’m not sure I could back that up. The particular song I had in mind was the one above.
So, it’s about a journey and a road. That much is apparent from the title, but what’s the real story? I really haven’t the foggiest idea. This is one of those songs that is so specific, that I think maybe you had to be there to know what is really going on. At the same time, it really doesn’t matter what is going in. That is, at best, beside the point. The point, it seems to me, is something about the journey. And the destination, except we don’t get to the destination through the narrative of the song. There’s reflection on loss and planning for the future all wrapped up in a sense of acceptance about the present moment. The only thing I really can’t get a handle on is how this wound up being broadcast on The Nashville Network. Must have been a Sunday night.