Day #5 - “The Road Goes on Forever”

I don’t remember exactly when it was. At least over a decade ago. Colleague and fellow musician Brennen Gildersleeve walks into my office and drops Robert Earl Keen’s “Live at the Ryman” on my desk. He says “listen to this, I think you’ll like”. He was dead on. I loved it. And within weeks I had learned six of the songs on the CD. Two of them made it into my 50 for 50 three years ago. At least two including this one will make it into this project

I didn’t learn “Road” until I heard the Joe Ely version on Outlaw Country. Then I figured out how to play it in what I call “DropE” tuning. Put the capo on the 2nd fret and leave the low E string uncovered. It’s a great way to play songs in the key of E, where the E chord is played with a D shape and an emphasis on hitting the open E string (more to come on that later in the month).

Anyway, this song is another that tells a story. It could simply be name “The Legend of Sonny and Sherry”. I would love to see somebody make a movie of this song. Maybe Tarantino. There’s no chorus. The lyrics introduce the characters and then take you on their journey. There’s nothing shy about the song and the ending has this great little twist that I hope will leave you with a grin.