Not all Americana songs are about trucks and trains, but the same subjects do pop up over and over again. So here's some suggestions for thematic CD samplers. The list is in no particular order and is, of course, entirely subjective and primarily based on the contents of my CD collection. Click below the list to make your own suggestions. Or submit an entire list for future publication here.
Backroads: The List
I gave the name "Backroads" to this website for its connotations of independence and the road less travelled – which we all take when we choose to love and support this music. But I am far from being the first person to have had the idea.
1. Memories of East Texas – Michelle Shocked
Thinking back on the roads I'd come, thinking I had not come that far
2. Backroads – The Cox Family
The main roads that I've travelled left me stranded so many times
3. Truale – Sam Baker
You drive an hour out of Dalhart, one long, straight line
4. Montana Backroads – Nanci Griffith
Remembering half-forgotten times, and wondering where it's gone
5. Back Roads – Kate Wolf
The shortest road ain’t always the best
6. Southside of Heaven – Ryan Bingham
I’ve been a desperado in West Texas for so long
7. Backroads – Ozark Mountain Daredevils
Those four-lane freeways ain’t got nothin’ for me
8. Rocky byways – Austin Lounge Lizards
Drivin’ all night down the one-lane highways
9. Taking Back Roads – Corey Crowder
We take our time and get there when we can
