Good Intentions Paving Company

"Twenty miles left to the show Hello, my old country, hello Stars are just beginning to appear And I have never in my life before been here And it's my heart, not me, who cannot drive At which conclusion you arrived Watching me sit here bolt upright and cry For no good reason at the Eastering sky"

--When the song starts I always picture Joanna in her car with the top down and her scarf blowing in the wind, finishing up a tour loop around America... on her way back to California for her final show... giddy AF and hella proud of herself for "making it"... happy tears in her eyes... and she speeds past a "20 miles to ___" sign... and her heartbeat accelerates... and a devil may care smile lights up her face like the mood LEDs of a fancy, modern dashboard. "Stars just beginning to appear" is her new life amongst celebrities.

"And the tilt of this strange nation And the will to remain for the duration Waving the flag Feeling it drag Like a bump on a bump on a log, baby Like I'm in a fist fight with a fog, baby Step-ball-change and a pirouette"

--She recognizes her new dawn is not necessarily the rest of her country's and professes shame instead of pride at all that it means "to be an American", so even though she patrioticslly sports "the flag", in HER hands it is NOT a high-flying thing. And she feels powerless, despite her stardom... but perhaps not necessarily defeated.

"And I regret, I regret How I said to you, "honey, just open your heart" When I've got trouble even opening a honey jar And that right there is where we are..."

--This is great. A piece of writing that admits something is so much more beautiful than one that accuses something. (Be the light). She knows her insights are faulty... and accepts the limitations of her perspectives/influence.

"And I been 'fessing double fast Addressing questions nobody asked I'll get this joy off of my chest at last And I will love you 'til the noise has long since passed"

--Being honest with herself is the wellspring of therapy her weak moments have left her yearning for. She makes music (a sort of talking-to-herself catharsis). And she is determined to forgive "the strange tilt of her nation" the same way she is deciding that she can forgive her own strangenesses... to make room for a brighter, more love-filled life. It might just be the endorphins that release when you are "nearing your destination after a long journey away from home", but what the heck's wrong with a song about good travelling vibes erasing all the pent up worries/uncertainties established at the onset?

"And I did not mean to shout, just drive Just get us out, dead or alive A road too long to mention, lord, it's something to see! Laid down by the good intentions paving company All the way to the thing we've been playing at, darlin' I can see that you're wearing your staying hat, darlin' For the time being all is well Won't you love me a spell?"

--She is apologizing for letting the overall doom/ick of the political state of the world compounded by a past of being accustomed to leading a single life, the weight of having to race to keep up with a fluctuating work-load and the undeniable rage of being stuck behind a wheel for thousands and thousands of miles of roadways... get to her. The roads themselves were built out of intelligent, sensible necessity... and their pavers, were of genuine intent. The song is about the hellish wanderlust of the human heart. We gradually drift away from the things we set out to do. Misalignments are inevitable. And forgiveness is divine. She is also directly taking about the love of her life "wearing his staying hat" and "loving her a spell": if HE loves her... then THAT'S enough (to be fueling actual smiles).

"This is blindness beyond all conceiving Well, behind us the road is leaving, yeah, leaving And falling back Like a rope gone slack"

--The sheer concept is grossly and inapplicably vague. Most paved roads are not maintained by the tradesmen who created them initially. Intentions are real but they are not visible (or permanent). A rope that has "gone slack" is no longer being held up at its other end... but THAT difference IS visible. She is saying that starting something right is not enough to keep it on track... it has to be at LEAST as understanding as it is self-aware... at regular intervals... to continue to enable necessary change yes, but also to specifically ensure a polarity of growth.

"Well, I saw straight away that the lay was steep But I fell for you, honey, as easy as falling asleep And that right there is the course I keep..."

--So despite her obstacle (of being truly happy, and not just intending to be) she is determined to ride on with the fortunate acceptance of companionship. And perhaps even a hand (or two) that can essentially help hold up the other end of the rope of her mental stability... so that together they can reevaluate not WHERE they're going but HOW they're going there.

"And no amount of talking Is going to soften the fall But, like after the rain, step out Of the overhang, that's all It had a nice a ring to it When the ol' opry house rang So with a solemn auld lang Signed, sealed, delivered, I sang"

--Falling into what she has validated as real love is definitive for her. She has crossed the threshold (so to speak). She's adapting and discovering the beat of her new life (and new life partner). It has morphed a bit, but it is still melodic.

"And there is hesitation And it always remains Concerning you, me, And the rest of the gang And in our quiet hour I feel I see everything And am in love with the hook Upon which everyone hangs"

--Doubt exists unquantifiably even when it isn't actionable. People who aren't still with their first-ever significant others... have exes. She wishes the best for the people whose ropes she has let "go slack" by acknowledging another force ("the hook" that "holds them up") in her absense. And she professes a love for the [whatever it is that keeps "the rest of the gang" afloat]. Doesn't that just humble you to smithereens?

"And I know you meant to show the extent To which you gave a goddang You ranged real hot and real cold but I'm sold I am home on that range"

--She is waving off the janky, animal parade of humans "proving" the purity of their intentions with (and to) one another. She is buying whatever he is selling, "for better or for worse", as they say.

"And I do hate to fold Right here at the top of my game When I've been trying with my whole heart and soul To stay right here in the right lane But it can make you feel over and old Lord, you know it's a shame When I only want for you to pull over and hold me 'Til I can't remember my own name"

She's no longer a player in the game of love... because even though she fancied herself astute at it... she was a regular of "the right lane" (which is the slow lane here in America). She maturely admits to feeling like a grown-up despite a subtle memory of bygone intent to perhaps remain true to feeling young at heart forever. She's done looking for someone who isn't her husband. She wants to be figuratively in his arms for the rest of her days. So stinking sappy-- I love it!