HIGHWAY 29^©

Live 24 Apr 1996 version

I slipped on her shoe, she was a perfect size seven
I said "there's no smokin' in the store ma'am"
She crossed her legs and then
We made some small talk, that's where it should have stopped
She slipped me a number, I put it in my pocket
My hand slipped up her skirt, everything slipped my mind
In that little roadhouse on highway 29

It was a small town bank, it was a mess
Well I had a gun, you know the rest
Money on the floorboards, my shirt was covered in blood and she was cryin'
Her and me we headed south on highway 29

In a little desert motel, the air was hot and clean
l slept the sleep of the dead, I didn't dream
I woke in the morning washed my face in the sink
We headed into the Sierra Madres 'cross the borderline
The winter sun, shot through the black trees
I told myself it was all something in her
But as we drove I knew it was something in me
Something had been comin' for a long long time
Something that was here with me now on highway 29

The road was filled with broken glass and gasoline
She was just a ragged doll now, it was just a dream*
Wind come silent through the windshield
All I could see was snow and sky and pines
I closed my eyes and I was runnin'
Yeah I was runnin' then I was flyin'

Page last updated: 02 Sep 2007

The above lyrics refer to the live 24 Apr 1996 performance at Brixton Academy, London, UK, during The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour.

* This line is the main difference between this version and the album's version.

Spoken intro to HIGHWAY 29 [Live 24 Apr 1996 version]:

This is a nice little theatre you know, you know. I like those red lights [chuckles]. Here's a uh, here's a [somebody from the crowd: "This is a song"] alright, alright, glad to be here [chuckles]. Here's a song uh, probably one of the few pop songs where its protagonist is a, is a shoe salesman. And uh, it's a song about self-knowledge coming too late... which is when it usually comes, unfortunately [chuckles], after you've fucked up.