Aaron Watson – “The Road”

Songwriter: Elliot Park

There are umpteen “road” songs out there, but few are told from the road’s point of view. After all, what’s a slab of asphalt got to say? Turns out the road is full of tough love, telling its travelers “I offer many choices and places you can go/But you must choose/I’m just the road.”

This anthropomorphization comes to you courtesy of Aaron Watson on the lead single from his upcoming 2010 album. Never heard of Aaron Watson? Better start getting used to the name: you might be hearing it for some time. The Texan, who’s experienced quite a bit of regional success and is slowly building a national fanbase, seems poised become the next “overnight” star after spending the past decade in the honky tonk trenches making a name for himself.

The road, a metaphor for life’s long journey, isn’t always a smooth one. As Watson sings, it’s “paved with memories, glory and regrets…lined with broken dreams and cigarettes.” When you die, the road’ll be there to lead you to your final destination. And if that destination happens to be a lifetime stay at Lucifer’s B&B? Well, that ain’t the road’s fault, sinner; chances are you made your fair share of wrong turns along the way.

An infectious chorus and an arrangement that purrs like a fine-tuned engine make “The Road” a great candidate for a driver’s seat singalong, should you for some reason feel like replacing Watson’s Texas twang with your own voice. Religious without being preachy, possessing enough fiddle and pedal steel to please the purists and catchy enough to capture the attention of non-traditionalists, “The Road” can appeal to a wide swath of listeners. Longtime fans of Watson will almost certainly appreciate it, and newcomers might just see what all the fuss is about.

Listen: Aaron Watson – “The Road”