Famous Sites in Popular Music -- Part Three: Carefree Highway by Gordon Lightfoot

One of the advantages of having a blog for so long is being able to publish a series of posts over time. Despite some good intentions, I have not followed up on my series of Famous Sites in Popular Music for over 11 years. The first two installments:

Famous Sites in Popular Music -- Part One Dan Fogelberg: Same Old Lang Syne

https://lightning36.blogspot.com/2010/08/famous-sites-in-popular-music-part-one.html

Famous Sites in Popular Music -- Part Two: The Day the Music Died

https://lightning36.blogspot.com/2010/11/famous-sites-in-popular-music-part-two.html

But today ... FINALLY, Part Three!

Wikipedia states:

The title comes from a section of Arizona State Route 74 in north Phoenix. Said Lightfoot, "I thought it would make a good title for a song. I wrote it down, put it in my suitcase and it stayed there for eight months." The song employs "Carefree Highway" as a metaphor for the state of mind where the singer seeks escape from his ruminations over a long ago failed affair with a woman named Ann. Lightfoot has stated that Ann actually was the name of a woman Lightfoot romanced when he was age 22: "It [was] one of those situations where you meet that one woman who knocks you out and then leaves you standing there and says she's on her way."

Gordonlightfoot.com states:

Carefree Highway, by Gordon Lightfoot, is one of his most famous songs. Lightfoot wrote Carefree Highway in a rental car, inspired by the sign for the Arizona highway. Lightfoot placed the paper with the lyrics in the glove compartment, and almost left it there! Carefree Highway reached #10 on the billboard charts.

Carefree Highway is a part of Arizona State Route 74, but now also extends beyond SR 74 for several more miles. It is close to a town actually named Carefree.

Before I moved to Arizona, I was actually not even aware that the name of the song was Carefree Highway. With Gordon Lightfoot's unique voice, I perceived the title of the song to be "Every Highway." Learn something new every day!

Carefree Highway

Picking up the pieces of my sweet shattered dream

I wonder how the old folks are tonight

Her name was Ann and I'll be damned if I recall her face 

She left me not knowing what to do 

Carefree highway, let me slip away on you 

Carefree highway, you seen better days 

The morning after blues from my head down to my shoes 

Carefree highway, let me slip away, slip away on you 

Turning back the pages to the times I love best 

I wonder if she'll ever do the same 

Now the thing that I call living is just being satisfied 

With knowing I got no one left to blame 

Carefree highway, I got to see you my old flame 

Carefree highway, you seen better days 

The morning after blues from my head down to my shoes 

Carefree highway, let me slip away, slip away on you 

Searching through the fragments of my dream shattered sleep 

I wonder if the years have closed her mind 

I guess it must be wanderlust or trying to get free 

From the good old faithful feeling we once knew 

Carefree highway, let me slip away on you 

Carefree highway, you seen better days 

The morning after blues from my head down to my shoes 

Carefree highway, let me slip away, slip away on you 

Let me slip away on you 

Carefree highway, I got to see you my old flame 

Carefree highway, you seen better days 

The morning after blues from my head down to my shoes 

Carefree highway, let me slip away, slip away on you

Thanks for reading!