The finest album to ever come out of the Texas Music scene, with a hat tip Waylon, Willie (et al)? The one album that defines and captures the essence of the experience, the live action of a honky-tonk, the crowd, the dust, and some straw cowboy hats? Robert Earl Keen’s “Live #2” Dinner. One song on that album is a cover of Amarillo Highway, and while I would revere the songwriter’s skill, the raw REK version is more fun. Not necessarily better, yet it is a staple in both performers’ live shows.
Amarillo Highway
(Terry Allen)
Gonna hop outta bed
Pop a pill in my head
Yeah, bust the Hub for the Golden Spread
Under blue skies
Gonna stuff my hide
Behind some power glide
An get some southern fried
It was from the REK album that I kept hearing the lyrics ring in my head, the word, “power glide.”
I liked the reflections, blue sky, adobe walls, and me, taking a picture.
