The Ghosts of Highway 20

Album: The Ghosts of Highway 20 (2016)
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Songfacts®:

  • Lucinda Williams' 12th studio album is named after a stretch of Interstate 20 that runs in part from Texas to South Carolina. The highway hits the northern part of Williams' home state of Louisiana, as well as cities she has resided in (Atlanta, and Macon), has family ties to (Shreveport, Monroe) or has previously written about (Jackson, Vicksburg).
  • Williams spent many of her formative years growing up in the towns that line up the long highway stretch, and the road is a common thread woven throughout. A press statement reveals that "12 of the 14 songs were inspired by various periods and experiences throughout Williams' life that all tie into Highway 20."
  • Williams explained why she named the album after the highway. "It has played a big part of my life, from when I started school in Macon, Georgia," she told UK newspaper The Sun. My brother was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, my sister was born in Jackson, Mississippi and my mother was buried in, Louisiana."

    "I have been going up and down is now Interstate 20 for my entire life," Williams continued. "From riding in the back of my dad's car at 4 years old to riding on the tour buses, 60 years later."

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