Where so many songwriters stretch for their highest notes, hoping to impress and astound, Duvekot bravely mines her deep reaches, where the dark feelings lurk. It softens her phrasing, leading us in with whispers, letting us know she believes every word she sings.
Her melodies seem like suddenly occurring thoughts, matching the hushed, conversational allure of her singing. They feel so immediate, so in synch with her lyrics; and yet also snugly rooted, oddly familiar, like memories you can't quite recall.
She sings, and writes, as if she thinks songs are important; not means to an end, but tools of survival. And for her, that's just what they are.
In 2006 Antje was a featured guest performer at the ten-year reunion concert of the contemporary Celtic band Solas, who performed two of her songs.
Long Way
Antje Duvekot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We promised we would write them
And headed north up 95
Into the great unknown
We turned up our stereo
And felt so reckless and alive
We didn't know who we would be
We didn't know where we would end up
A little food and our guitars
In the backseat and that old cello
The one that would get stolen
In a town in Idaho
And it's a long way to Michigan and back
And it's a long way
Cause it's a long way, the clouds upon our backs
And it's a long, long, long, long way
And I have never seen
Reflections of the cleanest
Of blue as the Minnesota lakes
Those were the longest nights
Of wood smoke and Northern Lights
As we talked until the morning came
The light of glowing embers
As sweet as I remember
Among the rustling of the trees
The legend of the harvest moon
And sweet ballad of the loon
I felt as ancient as I was meant to be
And it's a long way to Washington and back
And it's a long way
Cause it's a long way, the clouds upon our backs
And it's a long, long, long, long way
I called you from a payphone
In windy, cold Missoula
And then from Midland in the rain
A place as proud and sad as
The South Dakota badlands
It touched me more than I could explain
The dirt poor reservation
Where the Oglala nation
Tries to hang on to its ways
Feather and Peyote pipe and
A six pack of Miller Light
Sits on the dashboard of a beat up Chevrolet
And it's a long way to Tennessee and back
And it's a long way
Cause it's a long way on the worn out heels of Kerouac
And it's a long, long, long, long way
Out in California
We touched the other ocean
And I still have that jar of sand
In the Arizona desert
The sky goes on forever
You've never seen a thing as grand
And North Montana was cold
She keeps her secrets frozen
Under glaciers way up north
And people have got lost up there
In the home of the grizzly bear
And you can ask the mountain
But the mountain doesn't care
And it's a long way to Delaware and back
And it's a long way
Cause it's a long way, the clouds up on our backs
And it's a long, long, long, long way
Cause it's a long way on the worn out heels of Kerouac
And it's a long, long, long, long way
In Antje Duvekot's song "Long Way," she reflects on a road trip she took with her friends up north, a journey filled with a lot of uncertainty and adventure. The song explores the wild and unpredictable nature of the road, with each verse carrying the weight of the different states the group stopped at. The first verse establishes their starting point, where they say their goodbyes to their friends and bid their hometown goodbye. As they head up north, they feel alive and free, not knowing what the destination holds for them. All they have along the way is their music, their instruments and a sense of wanderlust that carries them ahead.
In the second verse, Duvekot describes their arrival in Minnesota, where they witness the cleanest of blue reflections in the lakes, and spend long nights talking over woodsmoke and Northern Lights. The scene is beautiful and serene, with the legend of the harvest moon and the sweet ballad of the loon making Duvekot feel like she is right where she is meant to be. The verse after that moves on to a phone call from a payphone in Missoula, and then to Midland in the rain, a place that's proud and sad, much like the South Dakota badlands. She reflects on the dirt poor reservation of the Oglala nation and how they hold onto their culture and heritage even in the face of adversity. The final verse takes us through California, Arizona, North Montana and the home of the grizzly bears. The journey ends where it began, back in Delaware, with the group feeling worn out but fulfilled from the long journey they took.
Overall, "Long Way" is a song about the beauty and freedom of the open road, the wonder of experiencing life through the eyes of a traveler and the bond that forms when you share an adventure with people you love.
Line by Line Meaning
We bid our friends goodbye
We said farewell to our friends
We promised we would write them
We made a promise to write to our friends
And headed north up 95
We traveled north on highway 95
Into the great unknown
We went into an unfamiliar territory
We turned up our stereo
We increased the volume of our music player
And felt so reckless and alive
We felt daring and full of life
We didn't know who we would be
We were unsure of our future selves
We didn't know where we would end up
We had no idea where we would end up
When we headed down that road
When we started our journey
A little food and our guitars
We brought some food and our guitars
In the backseat and that old cello
The old cello was in the backseat
The one that would get stolen
The cello was later stolen
In a town in Idaho
The theft happened in a town in Idaho
And it's a long way to Michigan and back
It's a great distance from Michigan and back
And it's a long way
It's a considerable distance
Cause it's a long way, the clouds upon our backs
The clouds seemed to accompany us on our lengthy journey
And it's a long, long, long, long way
The distance is very long
And I have never seen
I had never seen
Reflections of the cleanest
The purest reflections
Of blue as the Minnesota lakes
The blue color of the lakes in Minnesota
Those were the longest nights
The nights were very long
Of wood smoke and Northern Lights
There was wood smoke and Northern Lights
As we talked until the morning came
We talked until morning
The light of glowing embers
The light of embers that were glowing
As sweet as I remember
The light was as pleasant as I had remembered
Among the rustling of the trees
While the trees were rustling
The legend of the harvest moon
The story of the harvest moon
And sweet ballad of the loon
The beautiful song of the loon
I felt as ancient as I was meant to be
I felt very old, as if it was meant to be
And it's a long way to Washington and back
It's a great distance from Washington and back
I called you from a payphone
I made a phone call to you from a payphone
In windy, cold Missoula
The call was made in windy and cold Missoula
And then from Midland in the rain
I made another call from Midland, while it was raining
A place as proud and sad as
A place that was both proud and sad
The South Dakota badlands
The badlands of South Dakota
It touched me more than I could explain
It had a significant impact on me beyond words
The dirt poor reservation
The reservation was very impoverished
Where the Oglala nation
Where the Oglala Native American tribe
Tries to hang on to its ways
Tries to preserve its traditions and customs
Feather and Peyote pipe and
There was a feather and Peyote pipe
A six pack of Miller Light
There was a six pack of Miller Light beer
Sits on the dashboard of a beat up Chevrolet
It was sitting on the dashboard of a worn-out Chevrolet car
And it's a long way to Tennessee and back
It's a great distance from Tennessee and back
Cause it's a long way on the worn out heels of Kerouac
It's a very long distance, similar to the journey of Kerouac
Out in California
We were in California
We touched the other ocean
We reached the other side of the ocean
And I still have that jar of sand
I still kept the jar of sand
In the Arizona desert
We were in the desert of Arizona
The sky goes on forever
The sky seemed to have no end
You've never seen a thing as grand
There was nothing as grand as what we saw
And North Montana was cold
The northern part of Montana was very cold
She keeps her secrets frozen
The region keeps its secrets frozen
Under glaciers way up north
The secrets were under glaciers in the far north
And people have got lost up there
People have gone missing in that region
In the home of the grizzly bear
In a place with many grizzly bears
And you can ask the mountain
You can try to inquire from the mountain
But the mountain doesn't care
But it's unlikely the mountain would respond
And it's a long way to Delaware and back
It's a great distance from Delaware and back
Cause it's a long way on the worn out heels of Kerouac
It's a very long distance, similar to the journey of Kerouac
And it's a long, long, long, long way
The distance is very long
Contributed by Blake V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@JaronLindow
We bid our friends goodbye
We promised we would write them
And headed north up 95
Into the great unknown
We turned up our stereo
And felt so reckless and alive
We didn't know who we would be
We didn't know where we would end up
When we headed down that road
A little food and our guitars
In the backseat and that old cello
The one that would get stolen
In a town in Idaho
And it's a long way to Michigan and back
And it's a long way
Cause it's a long way, the clouds upon our backs
And it's a long, long, long, long way
And I have never seen
Reflections of the cleanest
Of blue as the Minnesota lakes
Those were the longest nights
Of wood smoke and Northern Lights
As we talked until the morning came
The light of glowing embers
As sweet as I remember
Among the rustling of the trees
The legend of the harvest moon
And sweet ballad of the loon
I felt as ancient as I was meant to be
And it's a long way to Washington and back
And it's a long way
Cause it's a long way, the clouds upon our backs
And it's a long, long, long, long way
I called you from a payphone
In windy, cold Missoula
And then from Midland in the rain
A place as proud and sad as
The South Dakota badlands
It touched me more than I could explain
The dirt poor reservation
Where the Oglala nation
Tries to hang on to its ways
Feather and Peyote pipe and
A six pack of Miller Light
Sits on the dashboard of a beat up Chevrolet
And it's a long way to Tennessee and back
And it's a long way
Cause it's a long way on the worn out heels of Kerouac
And it's a long, long, long, long way
Out in California
We touched the other ocean
And I still have that jar of sand
In the Arizona desert
The sky goes on forever
You've never seen a thing as grand
And North Montana was cold
She keeps her secrets frozen
Under glaciers way up north
And people have got lost up there
In the home of the grizzly bear
And you can ask the mountain
But the mountain doesn't care
And it's a long way to Delaware and back
And it's a long way
Cause it's a long way, the clouds up on our backs
And it's a long, long, long, long way
Cause it's a long way on the worn out heels of Kerouac
And it's a long, long, long, long way
@paulmilleresq
I heard this song on Pandora, and it stopped me in my tracks. An absolutely beautiful song.
@Ayersock
ditto but I didn't stop I got online and found it here.
@budgoodrich6000
She hooked me with Sleepy Sea of Indigo and Blue. This one came later, but holy cow. What an amazing song this is.
@nature7711
So much beauty, love, and sentiment in this song. A true masterpiece.
@BrotonCC
Thank you for this song. In 2023. Still so relevant to some young and upcoming families
🙏🏻❤️. Love it so much. We listen to this on the way to and from Michigan for vacations every year with our young boys. They love it. And I may sneak off for a nip of whiskey by an impromptu fire on the beach at night and listen again 😏 I sat and listened to this on empire beach Michigan while a storm was rolling in, and I almost didn’t leave. It just made me feel perfect.
@rankles9
If a song more beautiful than this exists, I don't know what it is. Simply achingly beautiful. Brings tears to the eyes.
@TA-qe8hv
This is one of those songs that just gave me shivers on first listen. Very few do this. It's incredible.
@jbknowles
Pandora recommended this song to me on a late night drive home last night and it was so incredibly moving. Thank you, Antje
@peterdstein
Thank you, Antje, for such a hauntingly beautiful song. I heard it for the first time recently on Pandora and was mesmerized. I can't get enough of it.
@stevewarner5973
I haven't heard lyrics this authentic or a voice so engaging since Joni Mitchell. I'm going to be spreading the word about this lovely artist!