The Weight / The Band

I picked up my bag, I went lookin' for a place to hide;
When I saw Carmen and the Devil walkin' side by side.
I said, "Hey, Carmen, come on, let's go downtown."
She said, "I gotta go, but m'friend can stick around.

-----
The Weight, written by Robbie Robertson, performed by The Band, 1968

Songs that makes you feel gooooood. A perfect song to include in any travel playlist, The Weight describes one man's adventures in a small town in Pennsylvania. A man who cannot direct him to a hotel, Carmen and the Devil, dying Luke and his young bride, and Chester and the dog he is willing to trade for a room all have awkward conversations with the man.

Featured in Easy Rider, this song would forever set the tone for every motorcycle video ever.

Closer To You / Brandi Carlile

I'm staring out at endless rows of green
There are miles of hay like I have never seen
Just when you think you've had enough and
your dreams come true
I just want to be closer to you

Closer To You, written by Brandi Carlile and Phil and Tim Hanseroth, performed by Brandi Carlile in 2005.

She writes great songs, sings beautifully, and is as cute as a button! I'll be honest, I only looked up her albums because of how she looks, but I bought her music because of what those albums contained. Anyway, here's a live version of the song. Her live performances blow her albums out of the water.

This song has always, and always will, remind me of traveling aimlessly for hours in my car. No direction, no bearing, no stereo. But as much as I want to keep driving forever and leave it all behind me there is always that spark, that purpose, or that person that keeps drawing me back.

(Fun mini-game: "Count The Clichés!")