Yea I know, a lot of people think 'The Way' by Fastball [video | lyrics]is super cheesy, but its yet another catchy pop tune with a very cool chord progression that is quite fun to play.
But this upbeat, poppy and happy-sounding song about a couple that shrugs their kids and responsibilities to walk off in the sunset to live the rest of their lives together, in love was loosely-based on a odd true story. These lyrics pretty much sum up the song version of the story:
"Anyone can see the road that they walk on is paved in gold
Its always summer, they'll never get cold
They'll never get hungry, they'll never get old and grey
You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere
They won't make it home, but they really don't care
They wanted the highway, they're happier there today
Their children woke up, and they couldn't find them
They left before the sun came up that day
They just drove off and left it all behind 'em
But where were they going without ever knowing the way?"
Unfortunately, most of the facts that are changed are the happy parts. Though not all the exact facts are not known to this day, the true story that is known is much weirder than these lyrics imply. The real couple was Lela and Raymond Howard who drove from their home in Hot Springs, AK, a quick 15 mile trip to a fiddling festival.[1] They never arrived though, and were never seen alive again. The local cops and forest service coordinated to search a 1,000 mile radius of their home.
The bodies of the couple, along with their crashed car, were eventually in the discovered in the middle of nowhere East of Buffalo Gap, TX, 350 miles from their Arkansas home (map). The question in the song "Where were they going without ever knowing the way?" is certainly interesting to think about. Also, it was later discovered that Raymond had been involved in a serious car accident which had left him with some slight mental issues which may have contributed to the incident.
The song itself is not exceptional, the lyrics really aren't anything special, but the fact that this dude could take such a grim subject and view it in the best possible light is something we could all do a bit more of.
So now that you know the story, go listen to the song again and feel cool.
[1] http://goo.gl/ynCbua
The bodies of the couple, along with their crashed car, were eventually in the discovered in the middle of nowhere East of Buffalo Gap, TX, 350 miles from their Arkansas home (map). The question in the song "Where were they going without ever knowing the way?" is certainly interesting to think about. Also, it was later discovered that Raymond had been involved in a serious car accident which had left him with some slight mental issues which may have contributed to the incident.
The song itself is not exceptional, the lyrics really aren't anything special, but the fact that this dude could take such a grim subject and view it in the best possible light is something we could all do a bit more of.
So now that you know the story, go listen to the song again and feel cool.
[1] http://goo.gl/ynCbua
