Another pick-me-up song for me is the pleasantly indolent yet energetic sounding King of the Road by country singer Roger Miller.
The song spoke of a vagabond, a hobo, who reveled in his life of rootlessness, of living it up in whatever situation he found himself. A "man of means by no means."
There was more than a hint of delight and mischief in that voice that reminded us that our lives, caught up in deadlines and routines, was missing something. We let other people’s rules and plans decide for us, but this tramp made his own decisions. He did whatever his fancies dictated.
We were slaves to others.
And that is why this song is so fascinating.
The song spoke of a vagabond, a hobo, who reveled in his life of rootlessness, of living it up in whatever situation he found himself. A "man of means by no means."
There was more than a hint of delight and mischief in that voice that reminded us that our lives, caught up in deadlines and routines, was missing something. We let other people’s rules and plans decide for us, but this tramp made his own decisions. He did whatever his fancies dictated.
We were slaves to others.
And that is why this song is so fascinating.
We may never chuck it all away. We may never willingly choose to drift about, driven by every passing wind.
Yet we cannot help but be charmed by this hobo, who deserves his self-styled epithet, King of the Road.
Yet we cannot help but be charmed by this hobo, who deserves his self-styled epithet, King of the Road.
I love Roger Miller! My favorite of his is You Can't Roller Skate In a Buffalo Herd.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this memory.
Mary
#AtoZChallenge K is for Karen