Insider Info

Roll My Windows Down : I had just spent a wonderful "Wilcox Weekend" (with singer/songwriter David Wilcox and a bunch of musicians and delightfully creative folk) at Kanuga Lake in North Carolina and it was time to head back to sunny Southern California, so I hopped into my trusty Subaru Forester and hit the road.

Traveling through eastern Tennessee on the I-40 West, I marvelled once again at the beauty and expanse of the trees lining the road as far as the eye could see. Miles and miles and miles...

I imagined what it must have been like for the original Indian tribes and early American settlers, passing beneath those unending miles of green canopy. At one point, I passed a road which led to the site of a civil war battle, and I thought of the souls who lost their lives there. Hallowed grounds.

I've, many times, spent days and days on trips like this with nothing to do but drive and write songs in my head, but this time was different. Those trees spoke to me. I wanted to feel the moss at their feet; sit in their shade and breath the moist air; touch the bark and feel the history through which they've lived.

They made me realize how isolated many of us are as we travel through this life. I needed to roll my windows down and let the outside world come blasting in, even if it messed things up a bit in my personal space.

This song was born in those forests of Tennessee, but the heart of the song is in the last verse and really refers more to a jungle than a forest. A jungle found in every city, everywhere. We all need to roll our windows down, in more ways than one.

I hope you enjoy the song.

The Recording: I was planning on recording "Roll My Windows Down" with a single acoustic guitar (my Larrivee, "Angel", of course) and my lone voice. No bass, no drums, just simple and intimate, so that's what I did. However...

When I sat in my car to listen to the recording, I felt it might be nice to add a really simple line for a nice feel over the break section. Flute? Mandolin? Harmonica? Long ago, my sister, Linda, had given me an old Clavietta that she found at a garage sale, and it struck me as exactly the sound I was looking for. I think it added just add the texture and tone I had in mind. What do you think? Does it work for you?

By the way, there are no studio effects on anything, other than some reverb and compression. There you go and now you know!

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Roll My Windows Down

Words & Music by Ron Hall - All Rights Reserved Worldwide

These wheels keep spinning round and round
And through the rubber on the ground
I feel the earth beneath my feet
Falling far behind

With music on my radio
The air conditioned breezes blow
My Subaru cocoon from the world around
It's time I roll my windows down

Too long buckled in this chair
Too long breathing filtered air
My visor down, protecting me
From some imagined glare

But I want to witness what I’ve found
While trav'ling through these hallowed grounds
It's time I roll my windows down

Let the wind blow in
And whirl my world around
I want to smell these trees
And this mossy ground
Let it roar so loud
That I can't hear a sound
I think it's time I roll my windows down

There's a place inside where love abides
Never wanting to stay hidden
There are worlds around where love abounds
Where our stories should be written

Let the wind blow in
And turn my life around
I want to smell these trees
And this mossy ground
Let it roar so loud
That I can’t hear a sound
I think it's time I roll my windows down

A cardboard sign in weathered fingers
Vacant eyes stare at the ground
A simple act of kindness just might
Turn a life around
It's time I roll my windows down
I think it's time I roll my windows down
Oh it's time we roll our windows down