I really don't recall the inspiration for this piece, but I do remember that the basic
song structure and lyrics came out very quickly. It was a stream-of-consciousness
guitar and vocal composition, and the oft-changing time signatures even caught me
by surprise...but they work and flow smoothly. Once I recorded the core song, the
instrumental section at the end happened very quickly as well. The story it tells is of
a group of people who are leaving their current home for hopefully greener pastures
on another world. Apparently, their planet is spinning into decay and cannot return to
the idyllic place it once was. It's just your typical planetary escape and interplanetary
travel tale...set to music.
This version of Over Roads was recorded in 1981 on my 4-track cassette recorder as it was being
written. At the time, it wasn't one of my favorites and I didn't pay much attention to it for quite
a few years. However, when I rediscovered it in 2023 it hit me in a different way and I may
spend some time at some point on a new version.
Over Roads © 2024 - Joey Arata