Highwaymen and Highwomen: Immortality and an Outstanding “Answer Song”

Ever since I discovered the Highwaymen, I love listening to them every once in a while. Their signature song, the title relating to their bandname, gives me joy particularly in the live version from Nassau Coliseum in 1990, with its hint at immortality:

It’s so refreshing to see how much they enjoy playing together. Four musicians, each a star in his own right, joined forces.

The Highwaymen: Four Successful Artists Teaming Up

The first verse is sung by Willie Nelson, who had 22 no. 1 singles in the Billboard country charts, as well as 14 no. 1 albums. He appears on the Rolling Stones’ Top 100 singers as well as Top 100 guitarists lists (2023 edition).

Kris Kristofferson takes over for the second verse. A member of the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, Kristofferson has written hits like Me and Bobby McGee, Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down and Help Me Make It Through The Night. Besides, Kristofferson is also a trained helicopter pilot, who flew both as a member of the US Army as well as when working for an oil company in the Gulf of Mexico.

In the third verse, it’s Waylon Jennings‘ turn. Considered a driving force behind the outlaw movement in country music, Jennings had cooperated repeatedly with Willie Nelson even before the Highwaymen. Along with Nelson, Tompall Glaser, and Jessi Colter, he recorded country music’s first platinum album, Wanted! The Outlaws. He also released the first platinum album for any solo artist in country music, titled Ol’ Waylon, containing his hit Luckenbach, Texas.

Undoubtedly the most famous of the four, Johnny Cash steps in for the last verse. Rather than piling up awards, I’d just say that to many people around the world, Cash was the personification of country music. He showed great diversity, though, covering genres like rock and roll, blues, rockabilly, folk, and gospel. There are some great recordings out there featuring him and Bob Dylan. I came across a cartoon that goes as follows:

A medieval castle, a guard up on the tower, the lord down below. The guard calls out: “I can see music!” The lord reacts: “Open the gate!” The guard specifies: “It’s country music!”, to which the lord quickly exclaims: “Close the gate!” Taking a closer look, the guard follows up with: “I can see Johnny Cash!” Finally, the lord concludes: “Open the gate just a little bit!”

The Highwaymen: Actors

Interestingly, all four members of The Highwaymen were also actors. Kristofferson won a Golden Globe for A Star is Born and piled up a long filmography, including the Blade trilogy, Heaven’s Gate, Planet of the Apes, as well as many TV appearances. He also played in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, famous for the Dylan soundtrack, including Knocking on Heaven’s Door, also featuring Bob Dylan in a minor role.

One of many films Nelson appeared in was the great Wag the Dog, starring Robert de Niro and Dustin Hoffmann, among others.

Jennings played in Maverick, starring Jodie Foster and Mel Gibson, and had numerous TV appearances.

Cash played himself in The Road to Nashville and Gospel Road: A Story of Jesus and took on voice acting roles in his later life. He had frequent TV appearances, including hosting and performing in The Johnny Cash Show.

Highwayman: Story, Spirituality, Immortality

Even though the Highwaymen made this song their own, they didn’t write it. Jimmy Webb is the original author, an acclaimed songwriter, singer and composer, who also wrote the well-known By the Time I get to Phoenix.

In short, the story of Highwayman goes like this:

• The highwayman (sung by Willie Nelson), who used to rob and kill, was hung.
• The sailor (sung by Kris Kristofferson) got killed when the yards broke off.
• The dam builder (sung by Waylon Jennings) slipped and fell into the wet concrete.
• The astronaut (sung by Johnny Cash) flies a starship across the universe …

Apparently the four persons are seen as incarnations of the same spirit-soul. Each verse re-estates the immortality of life itself, while the physical bodies vanish. The essence of life remains. The last verse transcends the boundaries of the earth, hinting at the soul preparing for another incarnation.

Thus the song makes a strong statement, which may remind us of the Bhagavad Gita:

The soul is neither born, nor does it ever die; nor having once existed, does it ever cease to be. The soul is without birth, eternal, immortal, and ageless. It is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 20

The Art of a Great Cover Song

I thought it couldn’t get any better. Besides, I used to be very skeptical of cover versions anyway, feeling that the original had to be best, and some songs just shouldn’t be covered. I have come to realize this isn’t necessarily so. One particularly outstanding cover was presented by Patti Smith: Her version of Nirvana‘s Smells Like Teen Spirit on her album Twelve made me cry. A true piece of art, so profoundly different from the original, yet incredibly true to its spirit, its essence, even including one of Patti Smith’s poems.

Another example is Johnny Cash‘s version of Nine Inch Nails‘ Hurt. Original author Trent Reznor knew exactly what he was talking about – it was as truthful a song as you could ever wish for, nominated for a Grammy as Best Rock Song in 1996. Yet, when Cash covered it, even Reznor himself stated “That song isn’t mine anymore”. Publications like New Musical Express (NME) considered Cash’s music video as one of the greatest of all time.

The Highwomen – Highwomen

Well, back to Highwayman: In 2019, 34 years after The Highwaymen, a country music supergroup The Highwomen was formed, composed of Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires. Like their famous predecessors, they sang a signature song referencing their bandname: Highwomen, written by Carlile and Shires and approved of by Jimmy Webb, the original writer of Highwayman. Here’s a thrilling live version, featuring Yola Carter:

This song also makes me cry. It works to perfection on several levels. It is a great reference to the original, yet I like the lyrics even better. While the men do men’s things, the women tell stories of suffering for a greater cause.

• Highwoman (sung by Brandy Carlile): a mother from a very young age, caught up in political fights in Honduras with the Sandinistas, fled to Mexico, protecting her children, died as the only one of the group
• Healer (sung by Amanda Shires): born with a natural talent, killed as a witch
• Freedom rider (sung by Yola): knowlingly risked her life, shot dead in the civil war
• Interlude (sung by all, Maren Morris is highlighted): I’ll take that ride again, and again, …
• Preacher (sung by Natalie Hemby): killed because teaching was unrighteous for a girl
• Final verse (sung by all together): these stories are still (largely) untold … women as unsung heroes, daughters of the silent generations …

While I love Highwayman and really dig the lyrics, I have to say Highwomen is even better. It is such a respectful hommage to the original, using the melody and even subtly referencing rhymes like Colorado (preacher verse: “In the summer I was baptized in the mighty Colorado” vs. dam builder verse “A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado”). It is finally about time to sing about a different kind of heroics, like self-sacrifices rather than looting, killing and adventuring. Joseph Hudak called it a classic answer song in an interview with Storme Warren of SiriusXM’s country channel, published (and archived) by the Rolling Stone magazine.

As far as I can see, Highwomen is way less popular than Highwayman. Somehow understandable, given how famous the male supergroup members were compared to their female counterparts. But it’s a shame – they and this masterpiece deserve much more attention.

Highwomen, Highwaymen – A Radical Spiritual Perspective

It’s a powerful message to say that the essence of life is immortal, while physical shapes appear and disappear.

I’d say today we can go a step further: The immortal aspect in humans is bound to the material sphere, but this can be overcome. There can be an end to the cycle of incarnations and repeated experiences of suffering under changing circumstances. Many songs covered on this blog testify to this spiritual path, hinting at a realm of true peace outside of the limits of time and space.

Get the music (note: paid link):

The Highwomen

The Highwaymen – Live-American Outlaws