High Road is one of my early songs. And no, it’s not about getting high. It’s not even about taking the moral high road. It’s about taking risks even when you can’t see a potential reward. I had heard an interview with Steven Tobolowsky on NPR where he talked about a point in his acting career at which he thought he’d have to hang it up and get a real job. He’d had some success, but he felt that since he was aging, his leading man days were over. What he didn’t know was that his character actor days were just about to take off in a big way. You may not know his name, but I will bet that you’ve seen him in dozens of movies and TV shows. (The one that I immediately recognized him from was Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day.) The point he made in the interview was that, when you’re faced with crossroads in life, you must pick a direction and boldly move forward even though you can only see what’s behind you.
I wrote this song before I would even dare call myself a “songwriter”. It was at a point in my life when I had young kids and a full-time job and really didn’t have time to follow a whim. But, the idea resonated with me – that if you want something, you have to take the risk and do the work – even if you can’t see what’s ahead. Because, just maybe, when you get to the top of the hill, you’ll have a spectacular view.