♫ Ventura Highway ♫

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, music, music history

Last night I played Horse With No Name by the band America, and in a comment our friend Pete said he loved this one by the same band.  Well, I checked my archives and it seems I’ve played it only once, three years ago, so that qualifies it for a redux, don’t you think?  And I still want to do Tin Man sometime, but that can wait a bit.

Released in 1972 by the band America, this was written by band member Dewey Bunnell, who says of the inspiration for the song …

“It was 1963 when I was in seventh grade, we got a flat tire and we’re standing on the side of the road and I was staring at this highway sign. It said ‘Ventura’ on it and it just stuck with me. It was a sunny day and the ocean there, all of it.”

The song has some rather strange lyrics, such as “Seasons crying no despair, alligator lizards in the air,” of which Bunnell says …

“The clouds. It’s my brother and I standing there on the side of the road looking at the shapes of clouds while my dad changed the tire.”

Another line … “Sorry boy, but I’ve been hit by purple rain” … would later become the inspiration for the title of the famous song by Prince, Purple Rain.  

Though the songwriting credit went to Bunnell, other of the bands songwriters had some input, as per Gerry Beckley …

“The guitar lick on ‘Ventura Highway’ is something that Dan [Peek] and I put together that really wasn’t a part of the song. The song is of course, super strong on its own. We had a friend back in England, when he heard it with the guitar lick, he said, ‘Oh, you’ve ruined it!'”

The song won many fans, including the pro wrestler-turned-politician, Jesse Ventura. Bunnell recalled …

“We went and played at Governor Jesse Ventura’s inaugural out in Minneapolis. He asked us to — his wife is a horse lady, and she’d always loved ‘A Horse with No Name’, and he had adopted this name Ventura. So when he put together his cast of characters for his big inaugural celebration, he wanted us to come and play two songs, which we did.”

This charted at #5 in Canada, #8 in the U.S., and #42 in the UK.

Ventura Highway
America

Chewing on a piece of grass
Walking down the road
Tell me, how long you gonna stay here Joe?
Some people say this town don’t look
Good in snow
You don’t care, I know

Ventura Highway in the sunshine
Where the days are longer
The nights are stronger
Than moonshine
You’re gonna go I know

‘Cause the free wind is blowin’ through
Your hair
And the days surround your daylight
There
Seasons crying no despair
Alligator lizards in the air

Wishin’ on a falling star
Watchin’ for the early train
Sorry boy, but I’ve been hit by
Purple rain
Aw, come on Joe, you can always
Change your name
Thanks a lot son, just the same

Ventura Highway
In the sunshine
Where the days are longer
The nights are stronger
Than moonshine
You’re gonna go I know

‘Cause the free wind is blowin’ through
Your hair
And the days surround you daylight
There
Seasons crying no despair
Alligator lizards in the air

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Dewey Bunnell
Ventura Highway lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc

Discover more from Filosofa's Word

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

21 thoughts on “♫ Ventura Highway ♫”

  4. I was two years old when the song was released. I think this song did not make it to my ears until I was old enough to recognize it. Thanks for introducing me to a new song. I like it. Oh, and thanks for the background information. It’s cool that Prince was inspired by that one line for he most famous song.

    Liked by 3 people

  5. From their album Homecoming, which was a major part of the soundtrack to my uni years. Good though this is there are at least three or four more on it that I prefer – it’s a superb album. Try their cover version of the John Martyn song Head And Heart and you’ll see what I mean: absolutely beautiful 😊

    Liked by 3 people

Comments are closed.