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The Longest Way

from Standard Deviation by Danny Schmidt

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SONG DESCRIPTION:

This song was written for the documentary film "Less Traveled: A Journey from Pine to Palm" about an adventure down the century-old Jefferson Highway, from Winnipeg to New Orleans in a 1954 Dodge. It's about how much community exists in the spaces between the main roads and biggest highways, and how much life exists in between the busy breaths of all the huffing and puffing we do to keep pace motoring through our modern lives.

lyrics

LYRICS FOR "THE LONGEST WAY"

I’m here to say that if you take the longest way
You might just find that eventually’s just fine
Making scenes and taking postcards in between
It’s quite the day when you can take the longest way

Old dirty cars, they used to shine like lucky stars
And they still might if they catch your eye just right
And if they do they’ll surely whistle back at you
It’s quite the day when you can take the longest way

It’s like sittin’ down to Mama’s cooking
Gathered round by Daddy’s side
All it takes is stop and lookin’
All it takes is one loooooong drive

Rolling south, where she’ll kiss you on the mouth
Sweet New Orleans, she’s just as easy as she seems
From pines to palms, beware the southern charms
It’s quite the day when you can take the longest way

Then head back north, where she’ll pay you what you’re worth
Sweet Manitobe, she’s cuddly when she’s cold
From palms to pines, beware the simple signs
It’s quite the day when you can take the longest way

It’s like sittin’ down to Mama’s cooking
Gathered round by Daddy’s side
All it takes is stop and lookin’
All it takes is one loooooong drive

An empty town is like a girl in grandma’s gown
Cause in their times, they’re both beauties in their primes
Still today, it just takes a certain gaze
It’s quite the day when you can take the longest way

Now roads are straight, now they’re so fast you miss your fate
Give me bends and give me miles and miles of friends
Give me curves and the secrets they preserve
It’s quite the day when you can take the longest way

It’s like sittin’ down to Mama’s cooking
Gathered round by Daddy’s side
All it takes is stop and lookin’
All it takes is one loooooong drive

credits

from Standard Deviation, released March 8, 2019
SONG CREDITS:

Danny Schmidt - Vocal & Guitar
Colin Agnew - Drums & Percussion
Will Robertson - Bass & Keyboards
Fats Kaplin - Fiddle, Mandolin, Banjo
Mira Stanley Costa - Harmony Vocals
Cara May Gorman - Harmony Vocals
Carrie Elkin - Harmony Vocals

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Danny Schmidt Austin, Texas

Named to the Chicago Tribune's "50 Most Significant Songwriters in the Last 50 Years," Austin, TX-based singer/songwriter Danny Schmidt is considered a preeminent writer, an artist whose earthy poetry manages to somehow conjure magic from the mundane, with lyrical depth drawing comparisons to Leonard Cohen and Townes Van Zandt. ... more

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