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Length: 4:20
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But the water doesn't flow
It boils with every poison you can think of
And I'm underneath the streetlight
But the light of joy I know
Scared beyond belief way down in the shadows
And the perverted fear of violence
Chokes the smile on every face
And common sense is ringing out the bell
This ain't no technological breakdown
Oh no, this is the road to hell And all the roads jam up with credit
And there's nothing you can do
It's all just bits of paper flying away from you
Oh look out world, take a good look
What comes down here
You must learn this lesson fast and learn it well
This ain't no upwardly mobile freeway
Oh no, this is the road
Said this is the road
This is the road to hell
I had the Road to Hell cd in the 90's. I remember listening to it late one winter night while hauling some production casing to a drilling rig in Northeast BC.
Clear sky around -20 hardly any traffic. I had Joe my swamper with me for help when we unloaded. We were both mesmerized by all the incredible tunes on this album. Turning off the Alcan hwy onto a bush road I pulled over for a quick pit stop. While outside I looked up at the sky to see the entire northern view all Aurora Borealis, right above was the brightest Milky Way I had ever seen. I turned to the south and there was a full moon. I told Joe to have a look. He got out and looked at the sights and said " Are we ever insignificant". I will never forget the incredible sights, Chris Rea and the humble feeling of it all.
Great story Great writing !
The US cover
The UK cover
Take your pick
Eww... Economics. Statistics was a boring enough course.
Economics: the "dismal science".
That's what economist David Ricardo called it, in response to Thomas Malthus, another economist. Malthus theory was that the world would always be in a boom-bust cycle, causing millions to starve to death.
Hence the term: "Malthusian nightmare".
Except that it wasn't. He was stuck in traffic on the M4 when the idea came to him.
As an orbial motorway, surely a more fitting tribute to the M25 is "Road to nowhere"
For the M25, road to nowhere (in both directions) - tolls may apply.
I can hear Mark Knopfler channeling Chris....
The other way around perhaps?
PS also maybe you'd like to add 'Traffic Jam' by James Taylor into the mix to go with 'Road To Hell' (pts 1 & 2) "just in time, to stand in line, with the freeway lookin' like a parking lot"
PPS and then perhaps 'Transit' by Richard Shindell? (already in the RP playlist, 'cause i heard it here) (i ride a motorbike...)
Well...have you every been on a road to hell?
I was on one many years ago: pursuing a PhD in economics after 5 years in the real world. They were teaching hardcore "quant economics".
So I was trying to do proofs on quasi concavity/convexity number sets, involving bordered Hessian matrices of 2nd and 3rd partial derivatives. Competing against much younger math majors.
And then I heard this song and realized I was on the road to hell.
I flunked out. But at least I quit smoking cigarettes during that time. So it was a worthwhile effort.
Eww... Economics. Statistics was a boring enough course.
boring music, bad voice, please no Chris Rea, I usually try to avoid too critical comments, but this ...., sorry
Well...have you every been on a road to hell?
I was on one many years ago: pursuing a PhD in economics after 5 years in the real world. They were teaching hardcore "quant economics".
So I was trying to do proofs on quasi concavity/convexity number sets, involving bordered Hessian matrices of 2nd and 3rd partial derivatives. Competing against much younger math majors.
And then I heard this song and realized I was on the road to hell.
I flunked out. But at least I quit smoking cigarettes during that time. So it was a worthwhile effort.
“ ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ was actually composed some 7 years before it appeared on record. The idea first came to Rea while he was working at Abbey Road studios in December 1979 whilst waiting for his wife to come and pick him up for the drive back home to Middlesbrough, and mostly written in the car (his Austin Mini) battling through the traffic chaos on the way out of London – thus his decision to return to record the song at Abbey Road in 1986.
It’s interesting to note that when Rea composed ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ his career was at a low point following his initial 1978 success with ‘Fool If You Think It’s Over’. Rea himself says, “I’d ceased to become the pop star that the record company wanted me to be – and I was about to be dropped.” Rea says he and his wife had actually been discussing opening an Italian restaurant with a view to leaving the music business. “We started to drive home – it was snowing when we left Abbey Road – and there was a little tune in my head that just felt Christmassy – I just scribbled the lyrics down.” When the couple arrived home at about half-past-five in the morning they found a royalty statement in the post with a large cheque for American royalties for ‘Fool If You Think It’s Over’ that persuaded him that sticking with his music was perhaps not such a bad idea after all!”
Courtesy: Muskkhylla
“‘Rea wrote this song while stuck in traffic on the M4 motorway in England, which connects London to the southwest coast. At a standstill for over an hour, he got the idea for this song and wrote the lyrics in the vehicle at the intersection of the M4-M25.”
Courtesy: Songfacts
First heard this album at a friend's house who played it so loud the neighbour turned off our electricity. Happy days.
Excellent story... made me chortle! :-)
Funny, I heard it come on and thought "Is that Mark Knopfler?"
Not nearly as good as Dire Straits, but still decent IMO.
I see the same similarities but think the opposite. Better than. But this is just one song. I'd like to hear more.
It has taken a full 30 years for this song to grow fully on me.
Initially I thought it was formulaic, but the sugary guitar has somehow made it to my bones now.
Written about the notoriously busy M25, London's orbital road.
Except that it wasn't. He was stuck in traffic on the M4 when the idea came to him.
As an orbial motorway, surely a more fitting tribute to the M25 is "Road to nowhere"
Just curious, who came first Chris Rea or Mark Knopfler?! Haha...
And don't tell me that he's playin slide so they aren't at all the same. Very similar vibe.
Chris Rea was performing first but I am pretty sure he credits Mark Knopfler with making this guitar sound popular and he rode on the back of Dire Straits success.
And don't tell me that he's playin slide so they aren't at all the same. Very similar vibe.
Heard this for the first time on KFOG while driving from Sacramento to San Francisco in a rainstorm. Early 90s. Part 1 includes road noise and the rain, so it was a cool piece to hear for the first time. They played Part 1 before the 10 AM break. After the break they reported so many calls about not playing Part 2 that they had to preempt their planned 10 at 10. Great into to CR!
I miss the old KFOG :(
That is exactly what I thought! Love Over Gold era.
Love over Gold came out in 1982. This song several years later.
he has a great catalog.
Has a little bit of a Leonard Cohen feel to me. More Chris Rae please!
I like him better than Leonard Cohen! Leonard is a great songwriter, but I can't stand listening to him! I had never heard of CR before RP. Thanx RP!!
His voice reminds me of Leonard Cohen a bit. Not comparing the music or the wordsmith-ery, just the echo of Cohen's voice.
This song mood, and not only, looks a lot like Cohen's "the future" that he wrote later in the early 90's.
Big fan of Cohen, just linked the dots between those songs.
Clear sky around -20 hardly any traffic. I had Joe my swamper with me for help when we unloaded. We were both mesmerized by all the incredible tunes on this album. Turning off the Alcan hwy onto a bush road I pulled over for a quick pit stop. While outside I looked up at the sky to see the entire northern view all Aurora Borealis, right above was the brightest Milky Way I had ever seen. I turned to the south and there was a full moon. I told Joe to have a look. He got out and looked at the sights and said " Are we ever insignificant". I will never forget the incredible sights, Chris Rea and the humble feeling of it all.
Something is wrong with this animation. The sky should turn around while driving through this road
Not in hell it doesn't!
But Radio Paradise is keeping me up!
Something is wrong with this animation. The sky should turn around while driving through this road
I could accept your "cashing-in-on-the-Dire-Straits-craze" if Chris hadn't beaten Dire Straits to the airwaves
Listen to some Chris Rea albums and you will see that he cashes in on nothing but his own originality. But what do I know? I've been listening to him avidly since early 1978
Hear, hear!
me too
G
I could accept your "cashing-in-on-the-Dire-Straits-craze" if Chris hadn't beaten Dire Straits to the airwaves
Listen to some Chris Rea albums and you will see that he cashes in on nothing but his own originality. But what do I know? I've been listening to him avidly since early 1978
Agreed. Chris is one of the greatest, unsung, plank-spankers of our times. His popularity over the 'Road to Hell' era overshadowed his earlier works, but thankfully he's since reclaimed his talent from the record company money-men and is back doing what he loves: playing some damn fine blues!
Steelydan1969 wrote:
Could also describe I-95 between Washington D.C. and Richmond.
That is exactly what I thought! Love Over Gold era.
PRAY FOR ME, I DRIVE ON US 19.
Beaten into a cocked hat by the southern end of the M5, especially on a Friday
To me a Very SOLID 8 - Most Excellent
I once had the power cut off because we were blasting John Cage's 4'33, GOOD TIMES
yeah , very good indeed, Great voice and feeling. Nothing really new but it's made with passion.
OK, let's try to find some merits.
I gave the song another listen, but in my judgment, the plodding, unimaginative drumming, the self-indulgent, interminable guitar screeching, the dreadful rhyming, the conceit behind the whole lyric, the clearly "cashing-in-on-the-Dire-Straits-craze" production that belies the tune's age, and (incidentally, perhaps, but relevantly, in my meek opinion) the amount of airplay - totally unjustified in my view - that this song got at the time of release and still continues to enjoy on commercial radio (while so much quality is mournfully neglected) are the reasons why I give this song a 1, and why I, rightly or wrongly, though it's a prerogative I defend, group it with other unimaginative and worn-out artists like Tina Turner, and yes, I unwillingly accept such artists into my own little subculture, and I'm not afraid to say so. Perhaps another factor that compounds my disappointment is hearing the same song again today! When it comes to Chris Rea, only his Christmas ditty gets me more fuming!
The worst part of this tune is his repeating "this is the road" towards the very end of the lyric. It's not the fact that he does it, but the way he manages to remove all trace of emotion from his delivery. I wish Chris Rea and his fans long and happy lives, by the way, I just cannot abide the commercial stuff he made (in case you hadn't already guessed!).
I could accept your "cashing-in-on-the-Dire-Straits-craze" if Chris hadn't beaten Dire Straits to the airwaves
Listen to some Chris Rea albums and you will see that he cashes in on nothing but his own originality. But what do I know? I've been listening to him avidly since early 1978
"You must learn this lesson fast and learn it well "
(lyrics)
Thanks for the correction on the lyrics.
"The Road To Hell (Part II)"
But the water doesn't flow
It boils with every poison you can think of
And I'm underneath the streetlight
But the light of joy I know
Scared beyond belief way down in the shadows
And the perverted fear of violence
Chokes the smile on every face
And common sense is ringing out the bell
This ain't no technological breakdown
Oh no, this is the road to hell And all the roads jam up with credit
And there's nothing you can do
It's all just bits of paper flying away from you
Oh look out world, take a good look
What comes down here
You must learn this lesson fast and learn it well
This ain't no upwardly mobile freeway
Oh no, this is the road
Said this is the road
This is the road to hell
Hoodwinked millions, you really can fool a lot of the people all of the time.
Look where this country is and has been going and I'll tell you who the hoodwinked are. You're likely one of them.
This isn't a political forum. Take your unsolicited, uninformed opinions and stick them where the sun doesn't shine.
Good on you, Otis, good on you.
-Pete
Hoodwinked millions, you really can fool a lot of the people all of the time.
Look where this country is and has been going and I'll tell you who the hoodwinked are. You're likely one of them.
This isn't a political forum. Take your unsolicited, uninformed opinions and stick them where the sun doesn't shine.
I'd take a crap on Douchebag Don's head but I see that someone's beaten me to the punch...
Oh, and yes: great tune. Knopfleresque guitar mastery.
I must LOL, when I see this. My view is one of the majority Germans see this obnoxious human like? creature
But the music is not comparable to this. Therefore picture and comment doesn't fit
I'd take a crap on Douchebag Don's head but I see that someone's beaten me to the punch...
Oh, and yes: great tune. Knopfleresque guitar mastery.
Thanks RP ;-)
Hoodwinked millions, you really can fool a lot of the people all of the time.
Thank G-d you're immune to The Donald's charm for that leaves you free to bring us the light, eh Lucifer.
This bit has gone on waaay too long!! Now it's just getting plain scary
I love all these crazy moving emojis. I only use my cell, where do i go to download them?
Hey, if you dont like it, dont pass judgement. I listen to this station because it's different from everything i listen to. Nothing like expanding your horizons
Hoodwinked millions, you really can fool a lot of the people all of the time.
OK, let's try to find some merits.
I gave the song another listen, but in my judgment, the plodding, unimaginative drumming, the self-indulgent, interminable guitar screeching, the dreadful rhyming, the conceit behind the whole lyric, the clearly "cashing-in-on-the-Dire-Straits-craze" production that belies the tune's age, and (incidentally, perhaps, but relevantly, in my meek opinion) the amount of airplay - totally unjustified in my view - that this song got at the time of release and still continues to enjoy on commercial radio (while so much quality is mournfully neglected) are the reasons why I give this song a 1, and why I, rightly or wrongly, though it's a prerogative I defend, group it with other unimaginative and worn-out artists like Tina Turner, and yes, I unwillingly accept such artists into my own little subculture, and I'm not afraid to say so. Perhaps another factor that compounds my disappointment is hearing the same song again today! When it comes to Chris Rea, only his Christmas ditty gets me more fuming!
The worst part of this tune is his repeating "this is the road" towards the very end of the lyric. It's not the fact that he does it, but the way he manages to remove all trace of emotion from his delivery. I wish Chris Rea and his fans long and happy lives, by the way, I just cannot abide the commercial stuff he made (in case you hadn't already guessed!).
Pretty damn well written, 2020sk. Agree or disagree, you get props for an excellent, logical defense. Enjoy your Wednesday
Middlesbrough: 1
Isle of Man: 0
How about judging a song on its own merits regardless of whether it fits into what is acceptable in your little subculture?
OK, let's try to find some merits.
I gave the song another listen, but in my judgment, the plodding, unimaginative drumming, the self-indulgent, interminable guitar screeching, the dreadful rhyming, the conceit behind the whole lyric, the clearly "cashing-in-on-the-Dire-Straits-craze" production that belies the tune's age, and (incidentally, perhaps, but relevantly, in my meek opinion) the amount of airplay - totally unjustified in my view - that this song got at the time of release and still continues to enjoy on commercial radio (while so much quality is mournfully neglected) are the reasons why I give this song a 1, and why I, rightly or wrongly, though it's a prerogative I defend, group it with other unimaginative and worn-out artists like Tina Turner, and yes, I unwillingly accept such artists into my own little subculture, and I'm not afraid to say so. Perhaps another factor that compounds my disappointment is hearing the same song again today! When it comes to Chris Rea, only his Christmas ditty gets me more fuming!
The worst part of this tune is his repeating "this is the road" towards the very end of the lyric. It's not the fact that he does it, but the way he manages to remove all trace of emotion from his delivery. I wish Chris Rea and his fans long and happy lives, by the way, I just cannot abide the commercial stuff he made (in case you hadn't already guessed!).
Perhaps a road to hell but if you're a Bernie supporter, you're on the road to serfdom. (They should write a book with that title . . . err . . already have. Bernie supporters should read it!)
How about judging a song on its own merits regardless of whether it fits into what is acceptable in your little subculture?
I find him most entertaining. One of America's best comedians.
This bit has gone on waaay too long!! Now it's just getting plain scary
But I ain't fear no afterchoke.
LOVE IT every time I hear it!!!! If this is the Road to Hell, I want to be on it.
I find him most entertaining. One of America's best comedians.
You´ve never heard this, on vinyl, on good hifi then obviously, if you had you´d be f....g gobsmacked...
But actually don´t need that, it´s excellent anyway!!!
Really?
And hearing this song over and over.
Yes people...Hell does exist!
For an added layer of enjoyment, watch the official video. It captures the desperate message in the song very well.
Rode that on a loaded touring bicycle. OMG.
Hahaha! Spot on!