Fernando Ortega

Road Song

Fernando Ortega


How I love these roads 
Every far and lonely highway, 
Through basin and range 
And a desert that never ends- 
A sky so wide 
You can feel your heart turn quiet, 
And then I listen 
For the voices of my friends 

One rides in the summer wind beside me, 
One flies with the stars 
That set the wild night on fire, 
One runs close and steady as a river, 
I could drive for miles 
Carried by that choir. 

From the hills of my hometown, 
To the Arizona canyons, 
From Chinle to Sky City 
To the gorge of the Rio Grande- 
The high and winding way 
From Chimayo to Las Trampas, 
The long road bends 
To the sweet sound of my friends. 

One's up where the clouds brush the mountains, 
One rushes down a stream 
Past the bright columbine - 
I could drive for miles 
Just thinking about them, 
How I love the road 
And these true friends of mine. 

One rides in the summer wind beside me, 
One flies with the stars 
That set the wild night on fire, 
One runs close and steady as a river 
I could drive for miles 
Carried by that choir.