Motorcycles and the Open Road

Ron 0:06

There are so many great songs about the open road , songs about being carried along to a new place , both physically and emotionally . Would you agree that when it comes to escaping to the open road , there's really no better way to do that than from the seat of a motorcycle ? There's a song that's been riding with me for years . It's Bob Seger's Roll Me Away . Now you may know that one . It's more than just a song , really . It's about a ride , but it's about a journey and it's about a declaration . It's beautiful and it means a lot . Let's talk about it . Thank you so much for joining me today . Recorded in beautiful Loveland , colorado . Welcome to Peace , love Moto , the podcast for motorcyclists seeking that peaceful , easy feeling as we cruise through this life together . Are you ready ? Let's go ?

Personal Connection to Roll Me Away

Ron 1:31

I heard the song Roll Me Away when it first came out in 1982 .

Ron 1:36

I was just a couple of years out of high school , completely lost and confused about what to do . Academically , I was mediocre at best . I was number two on the tennis team and loved to play in the band . Unlike so many of my friends , though , who went straight to college with some sort of direction accounting , law , whatever I thought I wanted to play music On the trumpet . I was a big fish in , as I found out , a very small bowl . Specifically , my dream was to play trumpet with Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show Orchestra that's Johnny Carson's band . He was a big deal back in the day , so I went to college on a very small music scholarship . That's where I met really good trumpet players , fantastic trumpet players who could play with speed and ranges I had never heard of before . No possibility I could do that . It was eye-opening and a bit crushing . So , yeah , for me , the early 80s with the song Roll Me Away . For me , the early 80s with the song Roll Me Away that when it hit the charts it hit my heart as well , because it was such a time of uncertainty for me , a need for direction .

Ron 3:09

The song opens with the narrator talking about going west on his motorcycle , chasing clarity , maybe something more . He talks about the mountains he had never seen before , talks about conversations with strangers and the decision to keep going when others might just turn back . That hits home , doesn't it ? For so many of us , the road becomes A therapist , a confession booth or an altar ,

Meaning Behind Seger's Lyrics

Ron 3:40

maybe all at once , sometimes kind of depending on our mood and where we are at in our heads at the time . But Roll Me Away isn't just a travelogue . It's about truth . It's about realizing that you've got to leave behind what no longer serves you , even if you don't know exactly what lies ahead . And that's tough . That's some kind of bravery . That's the kind of bravery we find when the road humbles us sometimes .

Ron 4:38

Took a look down a westbound road

Full Song Performance

Ron 4:40

Right away I made my choice . Headed out on my big two-wheeler I was tired of my own voice , took a bead on the northern plains and just rolled that power on . Twelve hours out of Mackinac City met a girl . I told her what I decided to do . She looked out the window a long , long moment and then she looked into my eyes . She didn't have to say a thing . I knew what she was thinking Roll , roll me away , won't you roll me away ?

Ron 5:15

Tonight I too am lost and feel double-crossed and I'm sick of what's wrong and what's right . We never even said a word . We just walked out and got on that bike and we rolled away . We rolled clean out of sight . We rolled across the plains deep into the mountains , felt so good to me , finally feeling free Somewhere along a high road . The air began to turn cold and she said she missed her home .

Ron 6:03

So I headed on alone , stood alone on the mountaintop staring at the great divide . I could go east , I could go west . It was up to me to decide . Just then I saw a young hawk flying , flying and my soul began to rise and pretty soon my heart was singing roll , roll me away . I'm going to roll me away . Tonight . Got to keep rolling , got to keep riding , just searching until I find what's right . And as the sunset faded and I spoke to the faintest first starlight and I said next time we'll get it right , roll me away , come on , roll me away .

Finding Your Own Path Forward

Ron 7:01

So what does it all mean ? What does it all mean ? What does it all mean ? What's it mean to roll away , not to escape , but maybe to become , to become something different than we thought we would ever become , to head towards something that we're not even sure what it is . But we just trust the bike , we trust the road and we trust our gut . Wherever you are right now , whatever road you may be on in life , may you find clarity . May you find your own mountains , your own winds , your own voice whispering yeah , let's go , let's roll away , as always . Thank you so much for listening and I wish you peace , I wish you love .