Blogocentric Formulations

The Long Way Around

DAY 1

"The Long Way Around"
by Dixie Chicks

I know pretty much all the lyrics to this song and I can almost never get all the way through singing along without choking up at some point. I didn't used to get like this, but I think the lyrics and the sentiment in the song have really affected me as my own life experience has grown over the years. When Dixie Chicks' album Taking The Long Way came out in 2006, my wife and I listened to the album a lot and actually went to see them in concert for the Accidents & Accusations Tour for this record.

At the time, I just thought the songs were catchy and they were great performers. I was peripherally aware of the 2003 controversy when lead singer Natalie Maines said that she was against the war in Iraq and ashamed that then-President George W. Bush was a fellow Texan following his decisions about the Iraq War... but I was also a twenty-something kid just a few years out of college who really didn't have a lot of experience with controversy. Public backlash to someone's political speech was still relatively new and unusual, long before social media practically turned that into a national pastime.

In the years since, I've gained a lot of respect for people who stand up for what they believe in, particularly Dixie Chicks, who were under an immense amount of pressure to apologize for their statement, and were subjected to ridicule, harassment, and derailed careers as a result of standing by what they said. And on top of all that, two years later they released this album and it wasn't some apology or admission of wrongdoing, it was a fiercely defiant, "Hey, we stand by what we said and we're still here" statement, with the first physical track being "Not Ready to Make Nice" and then "The Long Way Around" following. I think true courage is in short supply, and the fact that Dixie Chicks didn't just make the statement, but also stood by it, refused to cave to intense pressure where many would have just pretended to apologize and salvage their careers, and came back with convictions as strong as ever.

On a personal level, this song just kind of hits me too. The opening verse

My friends from high school
Married their high school boyfriends
Moved into houses in the same ZIP codes
Where their parents live

of the song is eerily similar to my experiences growing up, where probably half of my friends and classmates ended up staying less than an hour's drive of the houses they grew up in. Most of them work comfortable jobs and have houses, where my wife and I moved to an expensive city and chose careers we were passionate about, but didn't come with a lot of material success at first. Whenever we go home, we constantly face questions of, "So when are you guys going to get it together and buy a house?" The main refrain

I've been a long time gone now
Maybe someday, someday I'm gonna settle down
But I've always found my way somehow
By taking the long way
Taking the long way around
Taking the long way
Taking the long way around

of this song really hit me hard.

Now that my wife and I are approaching middle age, we've had a lot of years together and they've been amazing, but also full of mistakes and missteps, uncertainty and complications. I absolutely love this song and will often listen to it on repeat when I need a little encouragement. Because the truth is that life isn't easy, especially when you're trying to follow your heart and it doesn't always line up with the easy way or the thing that everyone else thinks you should do.

The ending verse has become one of my mantras at various times over the years, because the long way around may be difficult, but it's sure been a pretty incredible journey at the same time:

Well, I never seem to do it like anybody else
Maybe someday, someday I'm gonna settle down
If you ever want to find me I can still be found
Taking the long way
Taking the long way around
Taking the long way
Taking the long way around

-------------------------
Written for "The Soundtrack of Your Life"