"Highwayman" is a song written by American singer-songwriter

Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He achieved success at an early age, winning the Grammy Award for Song of the Year at the age of 21. During his career, he established himself as one of Am ...

about a soul with incarnations in four different places in time and history: as a

highwayman A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to foo ...

, a

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

, a

construction worker A construction worker is a person employed in the physical construction of the built environment and its infrastructure. Definitions By some definitions, construction workers may be engaged in manual labour as unskilled or semi-skilled workers ...

on the

Hoover Dam The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado, Black Canyon of the Colorado River (U.S.), Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. Constructed between 1931 and 1936, d ...

, and finally as a captain of a

starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1 ...

. Webb first recorded the song on his album '' El Mirage'', released in May 1977. The following year,

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

recorded his version on his 1979 album ''

Highwayman A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to foo ...

''. In 1985, the song became the inspiration for the naming of the supergroup the Highwaymen, which featured

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

, and

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...

. Their first album, ''

'', became a number one platinum-selling album, and their version of the song went to number one on the ''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' chart in a 20-week run. Their version earned Webb a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Country Song in 1986. The song has since been recorded by other artists. Webb himself included a different version on his 1996 album '' Ten Easy Pieces'', a live version on his 2007 album '' Live and at Large'', a version with his sons (Christiaan, Justin and James) The Webb Brothers on their 2009 album '' Cottonwood Farm'', and a duet version with

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler OBE (born 12 August 1949) is a British musician. He was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits from 1977 to 1995, and he is the one of the two members who stayed during the band's existence ...

on the 2010 album ''

Just Across the River Just or JUST may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Just" (song), 1995, by Radiohead * '' Just!'', Australian author Andy Griffiths' children's story collections * ''Just'', a 1998 album by Dave Lindholm * "Just", a 2005 song on '' Lost and Fo ...

''.

Composition

According to Webb, he wrote the song in London while he was finishing up work on his album '' El Mirage''. After a late-night round of "professional drinking" with his friend

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experi ...

, Webb went to sleep and had "an incredibly vivid dream": Webb included the phrasing in the line "Along the coach roads I did ride" to convey a kind of "antique way of speaking". Not sure of where the song was leading him, Webb realized that the

character does not die, but becomes reincarnated, and the three subsequent verses evolve from that idea. In the second verse he becomes a

, in the third verse a dam builder, and in the fourth verse Webb switches to future tense and the character becomes an

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

who will someday "fly a starship across the universe divide".

Jimmy Webb version

Webb's version of the song was first released on the album ''El Mirage'' in May 1977.

Glen Campbell version

Webb then brought the song to

, who recorded it in 1978.Hoekstra, Dave. "Glen Campbell, The Zelig of Roots Music". ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

''. July 24, 2005. Campbell eventually released the song on his album ''

'' in October 1979.

The Highwaymen version

In 1984, Campbell played the song "Highwayman" for

, who was making a quartet album with

, and

. A few years earlier, Webb brought the song to Jennings, but Jennings, having heard the Campbell version, said "I just couldn't see it then."Hurst, Hawkeye. - "Waylon and Johnny Walk the Straight and Narrow Together". - ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

''. - July 21, 1985. The four were all together in Switzerland doing a television special and decided that they should do a project together.Campbell, Mary. - "High-powered Highwaymen are musical outlaws". -

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. - (c/o ''

The Augusta Chronicle ''The Augusta Chronicle'' is the daily newspaper of Augusta, Georgia, and is one of the oldest newspapers in the United States still in publication. The paper is known for its coverage of the Masters Tournament, which is played in Augusta. Hist ...

''). - June 1, 1995. While the four were recording their first album,

Marty Stuart John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country music, country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before be ...

again played the song for Cash, saying it would be perfect for them—four verses, four souls, and four of them.Hurst, Hawkeye. "Marty Stuart Has Come a Long Way to Just Now be Arriving". ''

''. June 15, 1985. Campbell then played the song again, this time to all four of them, and the quartet had the name for their new supergroup, the Highwaymen, the name of their first album, ''

'', and the name of their first single. The four thought it was a perfect name for them because they were always on the road and all four had the image of being outlaws in country music. In the Highwaymen's version of the song, each of the four verses was sung by a different performer: first Nelson as the highwayman, then Kristofferson as the sailor, then Jennings as the dam builder, and finally Cash as the starship captain. Webb later observed, "I don't know how they decided who would take which verse, but having Johnny last was like having God singing your song."

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Cash. Although Cash is often classified as a country artist, her music draws f ...

has said her father did not realize the song was about reincarnation until she explained it to him. A black-and-white

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was released, which used actors to re-enact the song's lyrics, including the deaths of the first three characters. Each of the performers is seen briefly in the sky singing a few lines, as their segment of the song concludes. Footage of the canceled

Northrop F-20 Tigershark The Northrop F-20 Tigershark (initially F-5G) is a prototype light fighter, designed and built by Northrop Corporation, Northrop. Its development began in 1975 as a further evolution of Northrop's Northrop F-5, F-5E Tiger II, featuring a new ...

fighter jet is featured in the video, and the video wraps up with the faces of Jennings, Nelson, Cash and Kristofferson lined up, similar to the presidents on

Mount Rushmore The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a National Memorial (United States), national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (, or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dak ...

. Their cover of the Webb song remains the most popular and widely known of the Highwaymen's songs. The version by the quartet entered the ''

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

on May 18, 1985, rose to number 1 and spent 20 weeks total on the chart. It finished 1985 as the number 5 country song of the year in terms of airplay.

Chart positions

Certifications

Awards

The Highwaymen's version of the song earned songwriter Jimmy Webb a

for

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

's " Best Country Song".

The Highwomen

When

Brandi Carlile Brandi Marie Carlile (born June 1, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and producer. Her music spans different genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock. Throughout her career, she has received eleven Gramm ...

, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires formed the female supergroup The Highwomen in homage to the Nelson–Jennings–Cash–Kristofferson supergroup, they opened their eponymous 2019 debut album with Shires and Carlile adapting Webb's lyrics (with his blessing and assistance) as a response song reflecting how women throughout history often sacrifice themselves for a greater good, illustrating this with a Honduran

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

who dies getting her children over the border (sung by Carlile), a healer executed for witchcraft (Shires), a freedom rider (guest vocals from Yola), and a preacher (Hemby).

References

{{Authority control 1985 singles Columbia Records singles The Highwaymen (country supergroup) songs Johnny Cash songs Glen Campbell songs Kris Kristofferson songs Song recordings produced by Chips Moman Songs written by Jimmy Webb Waylon Jennings songs Willie Nelson songs Black-and-white music videos 1979 songs Vocal collaborations Works about highwaymen Fiction about reincarnation