Am I The Only One Who Loves "The Highwayman"?

[SortaSavageLike]

Yes, it has almost no tune to speak of. Yes, a good chunk of Stevie's vocal sounds really phoned in. And yes, Don Henley doesn't really add anything to the song.

But God, does this song leave me an emotional wreck. Hits me harder than anything else in Stevie's discography - even more than Storms. I cried the first time I listened to Bella Donna back in 2005, and my reaction is still the same. I listened to the album again the day after my father died, and again, I was choking back the tears as I listened. I think those last two verses are what do it for me - they're just pure broken-hearted poetry, and although I'm not really what you'd call a "romatic," that last "and still they try...again..." and the fadeout always leave me in stunned silence.

So, as a piece of music, The Highwayman is seriously flawed. But I still think it's one of the most touching/heartfelt songs I've ever heard.

Anyone agree?

[GODDESS6]

i have always loved this song~

[Steviefan49]

Yes, it has almost no tune to speak of. Yes, a good chunk of Stevie's vocal sounds really phoned in. And yes, Don Henley doesn't really add anything to the song.

But God, does this song leave me an emotional wreck. Hits me harder than anything else in Stevie's discography - even more than Storms. I cried the first time I listened to Bella Donna back in 2005, and my reaction is still the same. I listened to the album again the day after my father died, and again, I was choking back the tears as I listened. I think those last two verses are what do it for me - they're just pure broken-hearted poetry, and although I'm not really what you'd call a "romatic," that last "and still they try...again..." and the fadeout always leave me in stunned silence.

So, as a piece of music, The Highwayman is seriously flawed. But I still think it's one of the most touching/heartfelt songs I've ever heard.

Anyone agree?


Absolutely!! This was my boyfriend's favorite song, back when I met him in 2003, and it still is today! It got me all emotional too, and I love those heart-felt lyrics! So you have 2 votes from my household! LOL

Hugs,

Arlene

[kennation]

This song is AMAZING!!!! I love Highwayman!!! I thought that Iwas the only one!!! Glad to see that there are others who appreciate it's greatness...

[Phoenix]

You are not alone.:thumbsup:

[Sahara]

Doesn't do it for me, sorry! :shrug: It's the only BD track I skip.

[kennation]

"And she in all her magic
With hands as quick as light
Took him to be a challenge
And went into the night" - BRILLIANT!!! I LOVE THIS SONG!!! :blob1:

[sherhiannon]

You are not alone...I adore this song and it touches me emotionally too! :o

[PenguinHead]

I think it's one of her best songs, especially in her country mode. I never thought she phoned in the vocal or thought the song was flawed in any way. Didn't Waylon Jennings cover it? It's a rarity because it has one the most consistant , accessible, and effective narrative of any of her songs.

[kennation]

I think it's one of her best songs, especially in her country mode. I never thought she phoned in the vocal or thought the song was flawed in any way. Didn't Waylon Jennings cover it? It's a rarity because it has one the most consistant , accessible, and effective narrative of any of her songs.

Absolutely. Totally agree. I am think it's one of the best. "And only the highway woman keeps up with the likes of those..."

[steviefan59]

well i absolutely loved this song from the moment i got bd...it to me was the most touching of the songs on the album and stevie's voice is pure magic...glad to find so many ppl feel the same as i do...hugs pat

[wolfontherun]

Great song. Needs a lush arrangement though. It sounds scratchy and like is was recorded through a telephone.

[PenguinHead]

Great song. Needs a lush arrangement though. It sounds scratchy and like is was recorded through a telephone.

Perhaps it was recorded on a highway?:laugh:

[starshine]

I like it too but I really love the Masters versions better esp when you can hear Don Henley better in it....Great song......I guess people either love it or hate it....but I like it.....:D

[louielouie2000]

I've never cared for this one... I guess it's always been to sappy for me. I certainly understand the sentiment behind it... chasing after someone who can't be had. But it's just too over the top for me I think. :eek:

[stevierocks87]

I'm usually not that crazy about it, but could someone post one of the really good demo/master versions? Her voice is amazing in some of those and much smoother than the album version.

[Haunted_Song]

In high school, I had to write a paper about imagery being used in a song. I chose "The Highwayman" and when my Dad asked what I was doing he told me about a poem by Alfred Noyes by the same name. So, I ended up writing a paper about both the song and the poem.

Another note: Fleetwood Mac's "Everywhere" video is based on The Highwayman poem.

I have always loved this song. :nod: Here is the poem:

The Highwayman

The wind was a torrent of darkness upon the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight looping the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding--
Riding--riding--
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door.

He'd a French cocked hat on his forehead, and a bunch of lace at his chin;
He'd a coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of fine doe-skin.
They fitted with never a wrinkle; his boots were up to his thigh!
And he rode with a jeweled twinkle--
His rapier hilt a-twinkle--
His pistol butts a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky.

Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
He tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred,
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter--
Bess, the landlord's daughter--
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

Dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim, the ostler listened--his face was white and peaked--
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord's daughter--
The landlord's black-eyed daughter;
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say:

"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart; I'm after a prize tonight,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light.
Yet if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."

He stood upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair in the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the sweet black waves of perfume came tumbling o'er his breast,
Then he kissed its waves in the moonlight
(O sweet black waves in the moonlight!),
And he tugged at his reins in the moonlight, and galloped away to the west.

He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon.
And out of the tawny sunset, before the rise of the moon,
When the road was a gypsy's ribbon over the purple moor,
The redcoat troops came marching--
Marching--marching--
King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.

They said no word to the landlord; they drank his ale instead,
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed.
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets by their side;
There was Death at every window,
And Hell at one dark window,
For Bess could see, through her casement, the road that he would ride.

They had bound her up at attention, with many a sniggering jest!
They had tied a rifle beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!
"Now keep good watch!" and they kissed her. She heard the dead man say,
"Look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though Hell should bar the way."

She twisted her hands behind her, but all the knots held good!
She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years,
Till, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!

The tip of one finger touched it, she strove no more for the rest;
Up, she stood up at attention, with the barrel beneath her breast.
She would not risk their hearing, she would not strive again,
For the road lay bare in the moonlight,
Blank and bare in the moonlight,
And the blood in her veins, in the moonlight, throbbed to her love's refrain.

Tlot tlot, tlot tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hooves, ringing clear;
Tlot tlot, tlot tlot, in the distance! Were they deaf that they did not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding--
Riding--riding--
The redcoats looked to their priming! She stood up straight and still.

Tlot tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot tlot, in the echoing night!
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment, she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight--
Her musket shattered the moonlight--
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him--with her death.

He turned, he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the casement, drenched in her own red blood!
Not till the dawn did he hear it, and his face grew grey to hear
How Bess, the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.

Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs in the golden noon, wine-red was his velvet coat
When they shot him down in the highway,
Down like a dog in the highway,
And he lay in his blood in the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.

And still on a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a gypsy's ribbon looping the purple moor,
The highwayman comes riding--
Riding--riding--
The highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.

Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard,
He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred,
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter--
Bess, the landlord's daughter--
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

Alfred Noyes

[GoldDustOrphan]

Stevie Nicks - The Highwayman (Complete take, March 3, 1980)
http://www.mediafire.com/?zmiyqnoizjn

Stevie Nicks - The Highwayman (Demo)
http://www.mediafire.com/?dazyn4zzgxt

Stevie Nicks - The Highwayman (False start and Discussion, March 3, 1980)
http://www.mediafire.com/?iyzyymwoomw

Stevie Nicks - The Highwayman (Take #7)
http://www.mediafire.com/?e0ntno0coym

Stevie Nicks - The Highwayman (Take #8)
http://www.mediafire.com/?3cymtjtn3cg

Stevie Nicks - The Highwayman (Talking - Complete Take, March 3, 1980)
http://www.mediafire.com/?y3inamn0wwz

[Hawkeye]

Doesn't do it for me, sorry! :shrug: It's the only BD track I skip.

Well technically you need not skip it, you can just turn the album off after Outside the Rain :laugh:

[SortaSavageLike]

Well technically you need not skip it, you can just turn the album off after Outside the Rain :laugh:

What, haven't you heard the hidden track? :shocked:

[dnightshade]

I'm so glad someone brought attention to this song. It's one of my favorites and is often overlooked. It's a very raw, emotional song ~ the vocals and the lyrics. The image I always get is of a couple standing facing each other on a platform at an old train station w the early morning mist rising around them; they're silhouetted against the waking dawn and the train is idling in its berth and you just know the couple is hanging on as long as possible even though it's time for them to part ways. It's beautiful and painful at the same time and that's how it's always been for me.

[sodascouts]

"The Highwayman" is one of my top three Stevie solo songs. Lovely imagery, powerful vocals (with great backing by Don Henley), and a beautiful melody.

[EveryHour]

LOVE IT.

Stunning lyrics and I love the melody. A melody doesn't neccesarily have to be range-y to be great!

Love the feel of it closing Bella Donna.

[EnchantedKiwi]

Stevie should consider including it in future sets, it would be a great set closer :thumbsup:

[CADreaming]

Stevie Nicks - The Highwayman (Complete take, March 3, 1980)
http://www.mediafire.com/?zmiyqnoizjn

Stevie Nicks - The Highwayman (Demo)
http://www.mediafire.com/?dazyn4zzgxt

Stevie Nicks - The Highwayman (False start and Discussion, March 3, 1980)
http://www.mediafire.com/?iyzyymwoomw

Stevie Nicks - The Highwayman (Take #7)
http://www.mediafire.com/?e0ntno0coym

Stevie Nicks - The Highwayman (Take #8)
http://www.mediafire.com/?3cymtjtn3cg

Stevie Nicks - The Highwayman (Talking - Complete Take, March 3, 1980)
http://www.mediafire.com/?y3inamn0wwz

Where do these dates come from? According to tour info, she was in Australia with the Mac for the Tusk tour in March of 1980.

[GoldDustOrphan]

The dates were on the Master Reels, which doesn't mean they are correct. They could have been mislabeled by whoever filed/stored them or they could have recorded while on tour.

[Sahara]

Well technically you need not skip it, you can just turn the album off after Outside the Rain :laugh:
I knew some smart alec would bring that up :p

I must say I love the Noyes poem, I remember reading it when I was 10 years old and being totally awestruck. The Highwayman and The Raven were two poems in an anthology at school that made me want to write just like that :o

[michelej1]

I knew some smart alec would bring that up :p

I must say I love the Noyes poem, I remember reading it when I was 10 years old and being totally awestruck. The Highwayman and The Raven were two poems in an anthology at school that made me want to write just like that :o

Oh yeah, I was way into The Raven. Annabel Lee, Dream within a Dream. Our Macsters like him too!

I just bought 100 Edgar Allan Poe stamps at the post office and they rock. The picture is a classic one, but then they scrawl his name across the stamp in gold. It is simply beautiful.

Michele

[Phoenix]

Oh yeah, I was way into The Raven. Annabel Lee, Dream within a Dream. Our Macsters like him too!

I just bought 100 Edgar Allan Poe stamps at the post office and they rock. The picture is a classic one, but then they scrawl his name across the stamp in gold. It is simply beautiful.

Michele

Annabel lee!!! Is a great poem, and one of my FAVORITE demos of Stevies!:blob2:
I love how she made the last bit the chourus, and they way she sings the lines.

[galestreet]

:blob2::blob2::blob2::blob2::blob2::blob2::blob2::blob2::blob2:: yay for The Highwayman!!!!

[wildheart048]

Always loved The Highwayman...fantastic song...and love the poem, too, btw...thanks for sharing it!

[Steviefan49]

:blob2::blob2::blob2::blob2::blob2::blob2::blob2::blob2::blob2:: yay for The Highwayman!!!!

I am SOOO happy to see that SO many of us feel the same way about this song! It really is beautiful I think..

[kennation]

Has anyone heard Loreena McKennitt's version???

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[GypsyGirl15]

Oh my goodness, Loreena McKennitt. One of m favorite singers. :) She is so fantastic in concert and so friendly to her fans!

[kennation]

Oh my goodness, Loreena McKennitt. One of m favorite singers. :) She is so fantastic in concert and so friendly to her fans!

Totally agree! You and I seem to be on the same page today, lol!

[goldustsongbird]

I'm always surprised when people say they don't like it. :shrug:

[Phoenix]

Oh my goodness, Loreena McKennitt. One of m favorite singers. :) She is so fantastic in concert and so friendly to her fans!

I love her too!!!:blob2::wavey: Im Jealous that you have seen her in concert!!

[GypsyGirl15]

I love her too!!!:blob2::wavey: Im Jealous that you have seen her in concert!!

Seen her in concert twice and met her very briefly. :D Great to see another Loreena fan.

[sjpdg]

I've always like that song. Not for any particular reason, and it certainly has never affected me in the way it has you, but I have always enjoyed it.

The Highwayman is honestly one of my favourite Stevie solo songs, no doubt.

You are not alone.

[belladonnadream]

I definetly don't dislike it... I just don't choose it first to listen too when I play Bella Donna... but I've always loved the lyrics!

[SaidSomething]

This poetry is raw...heartfelt and honest.

I'll bet this song was written in about 15 minutes. It just has that edge...where someone pours their heart out in the only way they know how...

I feel the whole feeling she was trying to explian...in her poetry.

I just sent an email to a good friend of mine. ***(I'll start a thread about her later)*** I was telling her about writing and how most people could never get across the true, honest to God, "you had to be there" and "don't you get it" kind of emotions behind their story. Whether is be a poem/song/news story/book...etc.

Stevie and my friend Lydia Cornell have this gift with words...whether they be written, sung or even said.

The Highway Man... 2 of my favorite lines...that nobody could ever match...these grab me everytime. I understood how she felt with the emotions put into these words of the song. "...took him to be a challenge...and went into the night..." AND "...she was never sorry for wishes that would burn...enter competion she chases beneath the moon...her heart is like a dragonfly...she is just a fool..."

I think...she knew that this was never going to work...but "affairs of the heart" are a funny thing...especially if she wasn't sorry for her wishes that wouldn't come true...so with her dragonfly, wild heart...she took on this guy as a challenge, threw caution to the wind...knowing it wasn't going to work and calling herself a fool...Her heart was completly broken...but, (probably not together but, with someone else) they take a chance with their hearts...and try again.

Can anyone relate to my interpretation?

...words cannot express...

Jim