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Route 66

from Forgottonia by Chris Vallillo

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about

This song was written by songwriter David Williams about his childhood move from rural Missouri to Chicago on "the Mother Road", Route 66. My family moved every few years when I was a kid so I’ve lived this song more times than I can remember. When I first came to Illinois, sections of the old Route 66 were still in use as they worked to complete what would become “the double nickel”, I-55. But if you know where to look, you can still drive remnants of The Mother Road road today.

lyrics

Neon cowboys on motel signs
Red dust blowin’ from the closed down mines
Three years old in a coon skin cap
Everything we owned in the car was packed
Sayin’ goodbye to everyone we knew
For a two lane highway heading into the blue
On Route 66, yea Route 66

Up to the land of money, milk and honey
All the south’s just a hungry mouth
Radio playing something new
At the edge of some dream we were slippin’ through
On Route 66, on Route 66

Cigarette smoke through the window crack
Green hills goin’ never comin’ back
Grown up talk from the big back seat
Half bald tires hummin’ each main street
Chain of Rocks Bridge as the sun went red
Blessed Assurance singing in my head
On Route 66, yea route 66

Up to the land of money, milk and honey
All the south’s just a hungry mouth
Radio playing something new
At the edge of some dream we were slippin’ through
On Route 66, on Route 66

Break

Ah Mississippi River black and straight down
Goin’ over no more turnin’ around
Half moon risin’ over Ozark loam
I thought the other half was still at home

The land grew black and the dark rang deep
Headlights nod but I couldn’t sleep
Big city risin’ like some corn fed con
At the edge of some dream we were hangin on
Mamma and Papa and the little boy
From the show me state to Chicago Illinois
On Route 66, yea route 66

Up to the land of money, milk and honey
All the south’s just a hungry mouth
Radio playing something new
At the edge of some dream we were heading into
On Route 66, on Route 66

credits

from Forgottonia, track released August 31, 2022
Chris Vallillo, guitars, slide guitar, drums, vocals
Ross Sermons, bass

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Chris Vallillo Macomb, Illinois

Chris Vallillo is a singer/songwriter and folk musician who makes the people and places of “unmetropolitan” America come to life in song.

Performing on six-string and bottleneck slide guitars and harmonica, Vallillo weaves original, contemporary, and traditional songs and narratives into a compelling and entertaining portrait of the history and lifestyles of the Midwest. ... more

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