Detour (song)
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| "Detour (There's a Muddy Road Ahead)" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Jimmy Walker | |
| Released | 1945 |
| Genre | Western swing |
| Songwriter | Paul Westmoreland |
"Detour (There's a Muddy Road Ahead)" is a Western swing ballad written by Paul Westmoreland in 1945.[1] The original version was by Jimmy Walker with Paul Westmoreland and His Pecos River Boys, issued around the beginning of November 1945.[2]
Westmoreland wrote the song while traveling to Murphy, North Carolina. He debuted the song in the neighboring town of Hayesville.[3]
The title comes from the repetition of detour in the chorus:
Detour, there's a muddy road ahead.
Detour, paid no mind to what it said.
Detour, all these bitter things I find.
Should have read that detour sign.
Written in the first person, the song tells of the singer's regrets for the choices made in life.
Headed down life's crooked road
Lots of things I never knowed,
And because of me not knowin', I now pine.
Trouble got in the trail,
Spent the next five years in jail,
Should have read that detour sign.
(chorus)
1946 recordings
- Spade Cooley (Columbia 36935), with Tex Williams on vocals, had a big hit with it in 1946, spending 11 weeks on the country charts, reaching number two.[4]
- Other artist scoring big with the song in 1946 included Wesley Tuttle, number three Elton Britt, number five, and Foy Willing, number six.[4]
