I got the key to the highway
And I'm billed out and bound to go
I'm gonna leave here runnin'
'Cause walkin' is most too slow.
I'm goin' down on the border
Now, where I'm better known
'Cause, woman, you don't do nothin'
But drive a good man 'way from home.
Now, when the moon peeps over the mountain
I'll be on my way
Now, I'm gonna walk this old highway
Until the break of day.
Run here, sweet mama
Now, and help me with this heavy load
I am due in West Texas
And I've got to get on the road.
I'm goin' to West Texas
I'm goin' down behind the sun
I'm gonna ask the Good Lord
"What evil have I done?".
And I'm billed out and bound to go
I'm gonna leave here runnin'
'Cause walkin' is most too slow.
I'm goin' down on the border
Now, where I'm better known
'Cause, woman, you don't do nothin'
But drive a good man 'way from home.
Now, when the moon peeps over the mountain
I'll be on my way
Now, I'm gonna walk this old highway
Until the break of day.
Run here, sweet mama
Now, and help me with this heavy load
I am due in West Texas
And I've got to get on the road.
I'm goin' to West Texas
I'm goin' down behind the sun
I'm gonna ask the Good Lord
"What evil have I done?".
inviata da Pluck - 18/2/2025 - 21:35
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“Key to the Highway” is a blues standard that has been performed and recorded by several blues and other artists. Blues pianist Charlie Segar first recorded the song in 1940. Jazz Gillum and Big Bill Broonzy followed with recordings in 1940 and 1941, using an arrangement that has become the standard.
When Little Walter updated the song in 1958 in an electric Chicago blues style, it became a success on the R&B record chart. A variety of artists have since interpreted the song, including Eric Clapton, who recorded several versions. (Wikipedia)
Key to the Highway, recorded by Charles Segar, Big Bill Broonzy, Little Walter, and many others:
As far as I know, nobody has ever called this classic blues a song of protest, but I believe that it is quite likely that it was used to express protest. I've identified it as a protest song partly because of its similarity to "Key to the Bushes." You can see that similarity in the first verses of Charles Segar's recording of "Key to the Highway" (the very first recording of the song) and Tucker's "Key to the Bushes."
"I got the key to the highway, I’m rarin’ to go (twice) / ‘Cause I’m gonna leave here runnin, walkin’s most too slow".
"I’ve got the key to the bushes, and I’m rarin’ to go (twice) / I ought to leave her running, but that’s most too slow".
My article presents a detailed discussion on "Key to the Highway" that explains additional reasons why I believe African Americans sang and interpreted this song as a song of racial protest (even though its lyrics are ostensibly about a man telling his mistreating woman that he plans to leave her and never return). The discussion includes the following quote from Willie Foster, a man who once played blues harp in Muddy Waters's legendary band:
"Back in the thirties, I was old enough to sharecrop with and without my parents. And we couldn’t move when we wanted to move. And so we would sing some indirect songs. With the indirect—when you singin’ the song, you be singin’ to the man that you can’t tell you gonna leave. ‘Cause if you tell him you gonna leave, he’d say, Well go down there and burn him up in his house or kill him. Kill that man. He’s gonna leave ya. He’s talkin’ about runnin’ off. I ain’t gonna give him nuthin’. So that’s where, that’s where that indirect song comin’ at—“Oh baby I’m gonna leave you. Baby you won’t treat me right”— callin’ the bossman baby. That’s indirect, that’s through your wife to the bossman".
Willie Foster
Social (racial) protest in the blues | Steve Hoffman Music Forums p.1 #3