If you’ve followed Kacey Musgraves‘ career, you’ll know about her deep respect for country music’s roots. It’s ingrained in her understanding of lyric and melody. She continues showcasing classic tunes with a cover of Leon Payne’s 1948 song “Lost Highway,” also famously covered by Hank Williams. With a few tweaks to the lyrics, it’s like hearing the song again for the first time.
“Now, boys, don’t start your rambling round,” she sings, “on this road of sin / Are you sorrow bound?” She asks that rhetorical question before offering some wisdom: “Take my advice, or you’re cursed the day you’ve paid the price of the lost highway.” The production feels rustic and dusty, a tip of the hat to the original’s straight-forward approach.
In a press statement, Musgraves shares that “Lost Highway” serves as a song that’s “always a musical stable for artists who might be considered outliers or outlaws; those who live on the fringe. In 2011, when other record labels questioned my songwriting and my more traditional country sound, Lost Highway believed in me, signing me to my first label deal and helped me take my music around the world.”
Listen to “Lost Highway” below.
Photo Credit: Danny Clinch
Comments