Name: The Way The River Goes by Dan Weber
Duration: 3 min 49 s
Description: I've crossed a lot of rivers while touring but usually they're out of sight before I can slow down and get a good view to see what's around the bend. That's kinda how my life has been as well, since I moved away from my hometown in 1989. I started writing 'The Way the River Goes' after I played the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas and got to open for the great John McCutcheon.

I'm always grateful to be out on the road touring, living this troubadour-circus lifestyle and chasing a dream however crazy or impractical. During the pandemic I've REALLY missed it. This one is for all the bartenders, sound techs, bookers, venues, hosts and volunteers, who the ones that make it all possible!

Call It A Night

One fateful Spring Tour it snowed everywhere I went and inevitably I'd arrive and someone would say "You should have been here 2 days ago when it was 70 degrees and sunny!" So when I wrote the 'Sun's Gonna Shine when I'm Gone' I intended it as a humorous response, but ironically enough, there's a fair bit of truth in there as well.

Sun's Gonna Shine When I'm Gone

I co-wrote this with my girlfriend Lynn McCracken in Cambria, CA. She knew all about asking boys to a dances back in high school, while I was way too shy for that. How we rhymed 'Jitterbug' with 'Ernest Tubb' was a bit of a serendipity. I really love the Cajun-style accordion playing of Jenny Conlee-Drizos (of the 'Decemberists') on this one!

You Make Me Wanna Dance

I've been through a lot the last few years---my Father's death, the pandemic, a divorce, moving cross country---basically uprooting my whole life. I might be getting older but I'll be damned if I'm throwing in the towel yet. So "I don't care what people say, I'm gonna love you anyway! Now, Whatcha Gonna Do about that?"

Watcha Gonna Do?

This one was written near the end of a tour driving through the Great Smoky Mountains after a show in Asheville, NC. It's beautiful country with roads that feel like they were chiseled into the mountains. When I wrote this I didn't know that within a short time this song was going mirror my life, but isn't that just how songs work sometimes?

Farewell Maggie Valley

I've been to 'The Big Easy' several times, starting with a Mardi Gras trip in college. Of course that was long before hurricane Katrina left its indelible mark on the city that still bears many of its scars. I wrote this on a balcony in the French Quarter, where the mighty Mississippi bends north one last time, before passing the Lower Ninth Ward on its way to the sea.

Goodbye New Orleans

This song came out spontaneously after hearing of another mass shooting and the frustration that each one feels more senseless and tragic than the last. Sadly since I first wrote it, there have been a number of others only ironically slowed down by the Covid-19 pandemic. In July 2019, I was honored that 'Ever Since Columbine' won the prestigious Woody Guthrie Songwriting Contest.

Ever Since Columbine

Since I've been a kid I've been totally fascinated with trains. Whenever I see one I  can't help wondering where they're going while watching the vibrant boxcar graffiti sail by like a mural of poetry in motion. This one was written in the tiny village of Saxtons River, VT. Tony Furtado's dobro/dojo playing on this one is sublime!

While You Were Sleeping

I've crossed a lot of rivers while touring but usually they're out of sight before I can slow down and get a good view to see what's around the bend. That's kinda how my life has been as well, since I moved away from my hometown in 1989. I started writing 'The Way the River Goes' after I played the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas and got to open for the great John McCutcheon.

The Way The River Goes

Since I've been a kid I've been totally fascinated with trains. Whenever I see one I can't help wondering where they're going while watching the vibrant boxcar graffiti sail by like a mural of poetry in motion. This one was written in the tiny village of Saxtons River, VT. Tony Furtado's dobro/dojo playing on this one is sublime!

Dan Weber is an award winning songwriter who has been described as "reminiscent of early John Prine." Legendary Folk troubadour Ramblin' Jack Elliott said "I love Dan’s songs and he tells really good stories." 

A former Park Ranger at Canyonlands National Park, Weber draws inspiration from a wide range of life experiences: growing up as an altar boy and Eagle Scout; painting houses, following the Grateful Dead; and quitting his real estate business to pursue songwriting and touring full-time. He has a knack for telling funny stories, so if you like Guy Clark, Robert Earl Keen, or Hayes Carll, you’ll love Dan Weber’s music.

In 2019, Dan was the winner of the prestigious Woody Guthrie songwriting contest for 'Ever Since Columbine', and in 2021 he was named a rare 4 time finalist in the legendary Kerrville ‘New Folk’ songwriting competition. In 2022, he's releasing 'The Way the River Goes', which promises to be his best work yet. He currently lives near Dallas, Texas.

The Way The River Goes

Dan Weber

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