Poem/Song: Highway 9

This morning in church we read the story of Jesus chasing the merchants and moneychangers out of the temple from John (John 2:13-22). The reading reminded me of the second half of a song I wrote several years ago. Chances are slim to none I'll ever get around to recording it (ask me to sing it for you next time I see you though). But song lyrics are a kind of poetry, so I thought I'd share them here. I particularly like the sense of place and time this song evokes for me.

photo illustration by S. King, photos from Ponderosa Lodge '88 and '89

Highway 9

We drove down Highway 9
From Ashton to Rocketown
The sun was up
Our defenses were down
You drove so fast
We didn’t care
About the day & the time
In the rest of the world
We just wanted to be there
On Highway 9
Between Ashton & Rocketown
The radio is loud
There’s enough to go around
Sand in your shoes
Leaves in my hair
We’re in the mountains
And at the beach
We are everywhere
On Highway 9
Between Ashton & Rocketown

If you had told me then
How my life would be today
I’d have told you that’s
Impossible, I will never stray
From Highway 9
Between Ashton & Rocketown
The road’s still there
But it has a new sound
Traffic and noise
Billboards everywhere
I have to make
My own way now
I don’t belong there
On Highway 9
Between Ashton & Rocketown