Travelin’ On

Today’s been a busy and full day with a long breakfast visit with two of my brothers, some phone calls to sort out mobile phone issues, an impromptu visit from one of our boys, and a meeting to attend, plus I’m making plans and getting my gear ready to go outdoor cycling tomorrow at Birds Hill Park, less than an hour from my home in Winnipeg, Canada. It’ll be my first outdoor ride of the year! Some cycling friends have already been out there, reporting excellent riding conditions while the city’s roads and paths are still ice, snow or sand-covered.

When I sat down mid-afternoon to start writing the daily post, I opened Apple Music, and today’s selection was the first song I heard on random play. I’ve previously posted another piece by American singer-songwriter and pianist Norah Jones (b. 1979). Please see my post on her song “Good Morning” for more history of my relationship with her music and to listen to another outstanding song.

As I mention in that post, Jones’s 2012 album Little Broken Hearts is edgier than her earlier music. Several of the songs on the album deal with troublesome issues like breakups and betrayal, treating the former gently, almost comfortingly (at least, not steeped in anger) in “Travelin’ On.” The online music database SongFacts reports this about the track: “Three years before they started working on Little Broken Hearts, Norah Jones and producer Brian ‘Danger Mouse’ Burton met for a five-day songwriting session to get to know each other. The microphones were all packed away when they suddenly came up with the idea for ‘Travelin’ On,’ a stringed ballad about moving on from a breakup. Danger Mouse recorded it on his iPhone and when the album sessions rolled around, he played it for Jones, who had forgotten all about it. ‘It was kind of fun to go back to an idea that I just barely remembered, and it ended up being one of our favorite songs on the album,’ she said in a Spotify commentary.” Pretty cool stuff. I like this song.

“You could never be a face in the crowd
So you’re travelin’ on, travelin’ on out
Well you know I’d never say it out loud
But I’ll be travelin’ on, travelin’ with you

Hey I’m too weak it’s too much to fight off
The past so strong
But now I don’t think too much of the time
I’ll just try to keep up

Ooh ooh…
I can’t believe what’s happening now
Ooh ooh…
I can’t believe what’s happening now

If you notice that I’m falling behind
I’m taking my time taking it all in
So call me when you get where you’re going
I’ll keep travelin’ on, travelin’ to you

Hey don’t be too hard on yourself
I’ll be okay
Cause we won’t leave this place any worse
Than when we came

Ooh ooh…
I can’t believe what’s happening now
Ooh ooh…
I can’t believe what’s happening now
Ooh ooh…
I love the way it’s happening now”

“Travelin’ On,” by Nora Jones and Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse).
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.

Some may recognize (or remember reading here) Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton as filling the same roles he did on Little Broken Hearts as co-writer and producer, as he did with Michael Kiwanuka’s albums Love & Hate (2016) and Kiwanuka (2019).

I was thinking of Jones’s music just a few days ago, so it was a bit of serendipity to have it served up unexpectedly today.

Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.

Please enjoy the audio from Nora Jones’s YouTube channel:

With warm wishes,

Steve