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The Highwaymen
About Highwayman
"Highwayman" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb, about a soul with incarnations in four different places in time and history: as a highwayman, a sailor, a construction worker on the Hoover Dam, and finally as a captain of a starship. The song was influenced by the real-life hanged highwayman Jonathan Wild. The dam builder verse alludes to the deaths of over one hundred men during the construction of Hoover Dam near Boulder City, Nevada, although none of those deaths resulted in a person being encased in concrete. Webb first recorded the song on his album El Mirage, released in May 1977. The following year, Glen Campbell recorded his version, which was released on his 1979 album Highwayman. In 1985, the song became the inspiration for the naming of the supergroup the Highwaymen, which featured Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. Their first album, Highwayman, became a number one platinum-selling album, and their version of the song went to number one on the Hot Country Songs Billboard chart in a 20 week run. Their version earned Webb a Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1986. The song has since been recorded by other artists. Webb himself included a different version on his 1996 album Ten Easy Pieces, a live version on his 2007 album Live and at Large, and a duet version with Mark Knopfler on the 2010 album Just Across the River.more »
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- 2016
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Watch: New Singing Lesson Videos Can Make Anyone A Great Singer
I was a highwayman, along the coach roads I did rideSword and pistol by my sideMany a young maid lost her baubles to my tradeMany a soldier shed his lifeblood on my bladeThe bastards hung me in the spring of twenty fiveBut I am still aliveI was a sailor, I was born upon the tideWith the sea I did abideI sailed a schooner 'round the Horn to MexicoI went aloft and furled the mainsail in a blowAnd when the yards broke off, they said that I got killedBut I am livin' stillI was a dam builder across a river deep and wideWhere steel and water did collideA place called Boulder on the wild ColoradoI slipped and fell on the wet concrete belowThey buried me in that gray tomb that knows no soundsBut I am still aroundI'll always be around, and aroundAnd around, and around, and aroundI'll fly a starship across the universe divideAnd when I reach the other sideI'll find a place to rest my spirit if I canPerhaps I may become a highwayman againOr I may simply be a single drop of rainBut I will remainAnd I'll be back again and againAnd again and again and again
Watch: New Singing Lesson Videos Can Make Anyone A Great Singer
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The Highwaymen
The Highwaymen were a Country music supergroup comprising four of the genre's biggest artists well known for their pioneering influence on the outlaw country subgenre: Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. Active between 1985 and 1995, these four artists recorded three major label albums as The Highwaymen: two on Columbia Records and one for Liberty Records. Their Columbia works produced three chart singles, including the Number One "Highwayman" in 1985. more »
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Written by: Jimmy Webb
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
12 facts about this song
OriginationThe song "Highwayman" was written by American songwriter Jimmy Webb in 1977. |
PerformancesThe song has been performed by various artists. The version by the supergroup "The Highwaymen" (comprising Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings) is arguably the most popular. |
First ReleaseGlenn Campbell was the very first artist to record "Highwayman" in 1979. |
InspirationWebb wrote "Highwayman" after he had been driving through Phoenix, Arizona, and he became fascinated with the idea of reincarnation. |
ContentIn the song, four verses explore the soul of a man reincarnated through four different scenarios, each of which represents one of the Highwaymen: a highwayman, a sailor, a construction worker on the Hoover Dam, and a starship captain. |
RecognitionThe Highwaymen's version of "Highwayman" reached number one on the Billboard's Hot Country Songs and won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1985. |
Legacy"Highwayman", as performed by The Highwaymen, has been ranked on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time. |
AlbumThe song is also the title track for the album "Highwayman", released by the supergroup The Highwaymen in 1985. |
PersonificationUnlike other typical country songs, Jimmy Webb used personification in the lyrics to represent a broader sense of life and its cycle. |
ConnectionThe collaboration on "Highwayman" by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson was the start of The Highwaymen supergroup that went on to release three studio albums. |
GenreThe song "Highwayman" is in the country, outlaw country genre known for its storytelling nature. |
Live PerformancesThe Highwaymen performed "Highwayman" live all over America, one of the notable performances was in 1990 at Long Island's Nassau Coliseum. |
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