Rodney Crowell - Highway 17 Lyrics






I put away fifteen grand doing one-night stands mostly liquor stores and fillin' stations
Me and this peepin' Tom by the name of J.D. Swan and any number of his odd blood relations
This was armed robbery 1957 and mostly our getaways were clean
Then I'd pay off the boys and bury my bread out on Highway 17

I had five kids and a wife with one dress and a yard full of cars that wouldn't running
My two oldest boys they were on to my noise they despised what their daddy done
But I did my thing the best I could maing plans by the light of day
And then night would fall and it was time to call and I was always on my way

Now J.D. he was crazy and he was inbred he drank whiskey like it was goin' out of style
You know I should have seen it coming the writing was on the wall he was getting just a little too loose and wild
And he made his mistake out on Airline Drive, you know those North Houston cops are quick
They blew a hole in J.D. the size of Dallas and put a lump on my head with the brunt of a nightstick

You know 5-10 in Huntsville ain't no good times boys but I walked that line do you know what I mean
'Cause my mind was snug on that hole I dug out on Highway 17
I said my mind was snug on that hole I dug out on Highway 17

So I served my time only way I knew how thinking big and making plans
All about the way I was gonna change the world when I get my hands on that 15 grand
You know C.W. and Herschel my two oldest boys they took care of their momma and their little sisters the best way that they could
Dealing dimes and stealing hubcaps you know pretty soon they were doing good
So I walked out those prison gates a free man on the first day of November 19 and '63
I kissed my wife and I hugged my babies but they didn't seem the same to me

You know the boys looked on they were already grown it was written across their eyes and their faces
I'm the perfect sample of a bad example gone forever from their graces
But baby six long years and a lot can change many miles beyond your wildest dreams
But a six-lane wide modern interstate ride out on Highway 17
Lord they sunk my ship 'neath a concrete strip out on Highway 17
Man they broke my back they built a concrete track out on Highway 17
Well, you know it ain't funny but they buried my money out on Highway 17





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Rodney Crowell Highway 17 Comments
  1. P.... F....

    The quickest 4 minutes 49 seconds on YouTube I believe!

  2. A.... V....

    Interesting to write such a haunting story when it wasn't a story you, yourself had lived. Filled with such great detail, it makes it easy to vision how this crime went down and how they got caught to pay their dues.

  3. R.... ....

    Evocative. His latest CD is outstanding.

  4. P.... D....

    Wow! What a story teller with soul..

  5. I.... P....

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY (65th) RODNEY !!! 
    (born on August 7th, 1950)
    Great storyteller`s song...

  6. s.... ....

    great song writing, singing, and guitar.  *****

  7. G.... D....

    Love this song.

  8. d.... ....

    Thats a chilling image, sitting in Huntsville with nothing better to look forward to but a hole out on highway 17.

  9. c.... ....

    there may be songwriters as good as Rodney Crowell. but there are none better. thanks to him we have so many great songs

  10. T.... H....

    I can only dream of writing a song this great one day!

  11. R.... ....

    I first heard this song at the Work Play Theater in Birmingham, Alabama in 2004, a great song telling a human story. Thanks for sharing.

  12. L.... ....

    wow...choosing the first day of November 1963 as when the character got out of prison just adds to the power of this song. Master stroke of writing. Gives me chills and really galvanizes the time period for listeners old enough to recall JFK's killing.

  13. B.... F....

    I've always wondered if there's any truth to it. It's not true for him, anyways. He was born in 1950, and would have been only 7 at the age of the crime. Maybe it's a true story for someone else, put into song. None the less, real chilling song. It's amazing.

  14. m.... l....

    one of the best song writers in these United States of America.

  15. S.... T....

    Gotta be some truth to the telling ... there but for the grace of God go I

  16. J.... W....

    This is one of the best examples I know of how getting older can be good for a man.

  17. J.... O....

    @harleyrydersteve1 It's featured on the album "The Houston Kid", a great version too

  18. s.... c....

    I seen Rodney do this song on Austin City Limits 25 or 30 years ago and I never heard it or could find it again, Glad he has redone it. Thanks again It is AWESOME.

  19. F.... W....

    unforgettable. fantastic text, this is something to aspire to.

  20. M.... M....

    nailed this one, rod. thank you.

  21. L.... ....

    this is awesome. I have the album Houston Kid but this version is so deep. i listened to it 3 times and got drawn in more each time.

  22. R.... ....

    this is deep quality shit

  23. M.... V....

    I must 've listened about a thousand times to this song...

  24. J.... S....

    Love the parlor guitar.

  25. R.... ....

    I remember the first time I heard this song in Birmingham, Alabama at the Workplay Theater – magic then and magic now.

  26. M.... D....

    out on Highway 17 or Interstate 10 ;)

  27. o.... ....

    Excellence comes in many shapes and forms......this is pure as moonshine.

  28. x.... ....

    Excellent

  29. D.... ....

    Doesn't get any better.

  30. s.... ....

    Very cool ballad!