The inspiration for “The Way” was developed after Fastball member Tony Scalzo read articles about an elderly couple from Salado, Texas, who left home in June of 1997 to attend the Pioneer Day Festival in Temple, Texas and were discovered deceased at the bottom of a ravine near Hot Springs, Arkansas two weeks later.
According to Tony Scalzo, he said that “it’s like a romanticized take on what happened” and pictured them “taking off to have fun like they did when they first met”.
The song peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart in 1998, and it topped Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart for 7 weeks. Produced by
Fastball & Julian Raymond Release Date: February 24, 1998
[FM Radio being tuned] [Intro]
[Verse 1] They made up their minds and they started packing And left before the sun came up that day An exit to eternal summer slacking But where were they going without ever knowing the way?
[Verse 2] They drank up the wine and they got to talking But now had more important things to say And when the car broke down, they started walking Where were they going without ever knowing the way?
[Chorus] Anyone can see the road that they walk on is paved in gold And it's always summer, they'll never get cold They'll never get hungry They'll never get old and grey You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere They won't make it home, but they really don't care They wanted the highway They're happier there today, today
[Verse 3] The children woke up, and they couldn't find them They left before the sun came up that day They just drove off and left it all behind 'em (Leavin' it all behind) Where were they going without ever knowing the way? [Chorus] Anyone can see the road that they walk on is paved in gold And it's always summer, they'll never get cold They'll never get hungry They'll never get old and grey You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere They won't make it home, but they really don't care They wanted the highway They're happier there today, today
[Instrumental Break]
[Chorus] Anyone can see the road that they walk on is paved in gold And it's always summer, they'll never get cold They'll never get hungry They'll never get old and grey You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere They won't make it home, but they really don't care They wanted the highway They're happier there today, today
[Guitar Solo Outro] Leavin' it all behind
Great song and story.
More Clinton victims.
Has anyone here ever heard of the band “Fastball” or the song “The Way”?
Super-stardom???
or is this another Mandella effect?
Few bands are able to pull off a good rock song with a Cha-Cha beat.
I only read about this song’s meaning a few years ago. Back when the album came out I thought it was about retirees hitting the road to get away from their kids. Little did I know...
For anyone who hasn’t been to Salado, it’s a great little town; almost like Fredricksburg before they got too big.
If I ever go missing, check all the outhouses.
Reads like a, ‘Twilight Zone’ episode. And that’s a compliment!