“The High Road” was written by Tim O’Brien, the Wheeling, West Virginia-born singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist known for his work with the band Hot Rize. He recorded it for his solo album “Hard Year Blues,” released in the early 1980s.
The song is a lament for a lost love in which music itself becomes the comfort. The singer pictures himself on the high road, looking down on disappointment, and turns to his fiddle to carry his feelings toward the one he has lost. The recurring plea to be carried away runs through the song.
A minor-key melody, “The High Road” has become a standard in contemporary bluegrass and is now often played as an instrumental.
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