“Where I Roam” - a song about rambling
Going to a new place, what a perfect feeling.
Story Pairing
I cannot state enough how much I love going to new places. It’s been the main drive for a lot of my life choices. The idea of plugging into a place that existed yesterday without you, and today you are seeing it’s individual “flow”from within, it’s intoxicatingly fun.
Prior to being a musician full-time I traveled a lot for work in the tech sector. Now business travel did eventually get old for me. It’s super comfortable and cushy, but you end up staying on a relatively sterile path, aside from a few detours. I want local grit, new colors, wild food, and stories. I would trade air conditioning and a nice hotel bed for that every time.
I use them like crazy to get around, but I think one of the saddest things we’ve done is create the highway and forgotten the backroads. Having just driven almost 7,000 miles across 19 states, playing in 11, it’s amazing how similar most exits are. They all have the same handful of chain operations and don’t let you see the good stuff at all.
The average American has visited just 12 states
That said, there are a few gas stations that have found a special place in my heart.
Sheetz - folks in Ohio and our neck of the woods all know Sheets, but I have to say as far as their food goes, it’s hard to beat and easy to get something not horribly unhealthy.
Buc-ees - what the hell?! These places are monsters. I just went to one for the first time on this last trip and it had over 100 pumps and the inside was a warehouse of food and travel stuff. I had a BBQ sandwich there and it was at least a solid 6/10.
Kwik Trip - These were up in Wisconsin/MI area. They are open super late and have a ton of different ready made food. It’s all horrible for you, but after a 3 hour gig, driving around at midnight, hungry… they are heaven. At one I got these cheese filled breadsticks that reminded me of these breadsticks we had in middle school called “Bosco breadsticks” (we freaked out on those days).
I am all over the place in this rambling story, but I feel that it holds true with the song. The journey is all we have and it’s never in a straight line. If it looks like it’s resembling a straight line I would highly suggest taking a few twists and turns, getting lost, and stopping somewhere randomly new. We only get to do all of this they once, and collecting ground leads to such a magnificently colorful existence.
Song Structure
I play it anywhere from standard to Capo 4, just depends how I am feeling.
Verse: G / C / G / D / G
Chorus: D / C / G
Voice Memos
No Notebook Page
2017
Lyrics
I gave the road so many years
I ain't found one place that I like better than year
It's where I roam that is my home
All my friends, they went away
They didn't like the places that I chose to stay
It's where I roam that is my home
Through the valleys and the hills my darling
Beauty stretched from sea to sea
Keep your cities made of steel my darling
Open road is meant for me
Dollar spent is a dollar lost
I'd take the train but I can't cover the cost
It's where I roam that is my home
All the girls, too far to count
Fingers crossed that they won't throw me out
It's where I roam that is my home
Through the valleys and the hills my darling
Beauty stretched from sea to sea
Keep your cities made of steel my darling
Open road is meant for me
Wind behind, the ground below
They are with me no matter where I go
It's where I roam that is my home
It's where I roam that is my home