On the Way to Rosedale (Magic Gift)
Heavy guitar-riff based rock song about rejecting a deal with the Devil.
Do It Yourself Alternative
Since receiving his first guitar at age 12 (a 1965 Silvertone) Ryan has been writing and playing music for his personal enjoyment for more than 30 years. After years of putting his music on assorted cassettes (and a 8 year layoff to take care of career and kids) Ryan put Pro Tools on an old computer in the back bedroom and began writing, playing and recording music again. It's a life-long hobby for him.
Ryan plays guitar, bass and keyboards and uses a drum machine for the beats.
Story behind the song
The song is a riff-based number influenced by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Cream, Robert Johnson and that Travis Tritt video with Billy Bob Thornton -- Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde. There's a Zeppelin song called Traveling Riverside Blues that talks about going to Rosedale. So, I looked at a map and saw it was on the Mississippi River south of Memphis. I recalled the Crossroads story about the deal Robert Johnson made with the Devil. Legend says that it happened in Rosedale. The story starts in the west, in the middle of Oklahoma and takes place through the state of Arkansas along I-40. The words are a play on the old story about meeting the Devil at the crossroads. Only, instead of making the deal, the main character rejects the Devil in favor of what that he holds dear in his life: His baby in Memphis.
Lyrics
On the Way to Rosedale
We met up on 40, on the way to Rosedale
About five miles from the Ouachita jail
(B) It’s been ten years since I left Riverside
I’ve been trapped in a workshop with no place to hide
But, I’m on my way home like the Santa Fe rail
I told her my story – how I was alone
My baby’s in Memphis and I wanna go home
She’s got a magic gift, that gives me such a lift.
Makes me work all day, then do the midnight shift
Just thinking about my baby, when I’m far from home
I looked straight in her eyes, and darkness stared back
I’m trying to do good, but her heart is black
She offers me riches, put me on the fast track
But, if I walk through this door, I’ll hear a slam in the back.
Perhaps I’ll keep it open, just a little crack?
I left her in Carlisle, just a few miles from home
Just like I found her, but she had to go
The Mississippi River is just ahead.
When I get to Memphis, I’ll keep my baby instead
Cause she’s the only one that I want to know
