1) The Highwaymen was an Am… Read Full Bio ↴There are two artists sharing this name;
1) The Highwaymen was an American country music supergroup, composed of four of the genre's biggest artists, known for their pioneering influence on the outlaw country subgenre: Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. Active between 1985 and 1995, the group recorded three major label albums as The Highwaymen: two on Columbia Records and one for Liberty Records. Their Columbia works produced three chart singles, including the number one "Highwayman" in 1985.
Between 1996 and 1999, Nelson, Kristofferson, Cash, and Jennings also provided the voice and dramatization for the Louis L'Amour Collection, a four-CD box set of seven Louis L'Amour stories published by the HighBridge Company, although the four were not credited as "The Highwaymen" in this work.
Besides the four formal members of the group, only one other vocal recording artist appeared on a Highwaymen recording: Johnny Rodriguez, who provided Spanish vocal on "Deportee", a Woody Guthrie composition, from "Highwayman".
The four original members starred in a movie together: the 1986 film Stagecoach.
2) The Highwaymen were a collegiate folk group from the 1960s who had a significant impact on the folk scene of that time and remain famous for the song "Michael" and "Cotton Fields." Formed in 1958 while the band members were at college, the group broke up in 1964 after releasing eight albums and ten singles. They reunited in 1987, minus Chan Daniels (who died in 1975), for a concert for their 25th college reunion. Between then and 2009, the band has performed ten to twelve concerts a year. Today, two of the original five members (Steve Butts and Steve Trott) are still alive, with Dave Fisher dying on May 7, 2010, Gil Robbins (father of actor Tim Robbins) dying on April 5, 2011, and Bob Burnett dying on December 8, 2011.
It Is What It Is
The Highwaymen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I’ve been all kind of things that are hard to spell.
I’ve been unruly, speaking truly,
I’ve been so cool I couldn't hardly even stand myself.
I’ve been a monster, without a sponsor,
I’ve been Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
I’ve been a goner, I’ve been a loner,
And when my mixture was right,
I am what I am cause I ain’t what I used to be.
'Cause it is what it is but it ain’t what it used to be.
I’ve been a mover, I was a shaker,
He had a girlfriend, I tried to snake her.
I been mysterious, I been delirious,
I been so weird it woulda killed a normal man.
I wanted money, I wanted power,
I want a monument kinda like the Eiffel Tower.
I been lost at sea, I been lost in space,
And when I fall in love I fall all over the place.
I am what I am cause I ain’t what I used to be. (oooh, yeah)
Cause it is what it is but it ain’t what it used to be.
Spoken: Well, tell 'em about it
And you can go on forever and make the same mistakes,
Or you can stand up on your hind legs and change your fate.
Go on and do it till you finally see,
What it is that it was that you don't want to be.
Spoken: Walking tall, hoo!
I was an outlaw, I was an in-law,
I was a scapegoat, that was the last straw.
I hit the highway, singin' my way,
But it wound up sounding like 'you’ll never walk alone'.
I got a story, reflected glory,
Is the way that I been seeing for most of my life.
I heard the laughter, up in the rafters,
But I never ever thought that the joke was on me.
I am what I am cause I ain’t what I used to be. (Spoken: well, maybe just a little.)
Cause it is what it is but it ain’t what it used to be.
Yeah, I am what I am cause I ain’t what I used to be.
Cause it is what it is but it ain’t what it used to be.
The Highwaymen's song "It Is What It Is" is a reflective piece that delves into the complexities of life and the various identities a person can embody throughout their journey. The lyrics express the singer's experience of being obnoxious, unconscious, unruly, and all sorts of things hard to spell. However, in equal parts, they've also been kind, cool, mysterious, and lost in space. The singer portrays himself as a person who has gone through a range of experiences, taken on different personas, and made mistakes. Yet, despite all of it, he is who he is and has accepted it.
The chorus of the song emphasizes accepting oneself and coming to terms with the fact that change is a constant. It states that "it is what it is, but it ain't what it used to be" suggesting that circumstances and feelings can change over time, but it is crucial to embrace oneself as they are currently. The spoken word interludes in the song add to the conversationalist and reflective nature of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
I’ve been obnoxious, I’ve been unconscious,
I've behaved poorly and made bad decisions without even realizing it
I’ve been all kind of things that are hard to spell.
I've been all sorts of difficult-to-describe people
I’ve been unruly, speaking truly,
I've been rebellious while still being honest
I’ve been so cool I couldn't hardly even stand myself.
I've been so confident and relaxed that I almost couldn't handle it
I’ve been a monster, without a sponsor,
I've been a destructive force without anyone to guide me
I’ve been Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
I've had a split personality, like the famous fictional character
I’ve been a goner, I’ve been a loner,
I've been close to death and isolated from others
And when my mixture was right,
And when everything came together just right
I’m a nice bunch of guys.
I'm actually a good person, despite my troubled past
I am what I am cause I ain’t what I used to be.
I am who I am now because I've changed from my past self
'Cause it is what it is but it ain’t what it used to be.
The situation may be the same, but I've changed and it's different now
I’ve been a mover, I was a shaker,
I've made things happen and been a go-getter
He had a girlfriend, I tried to snake her.
I tried to steal someone's girlfriend
I been mysterious, I been delirious,
I've been secretive and confused
I been so weird it woulda killed a normal man.
I've been so odd that it would have been too much for most people to handle
I wanted money, I wanted power,
I've been greedy for wealth and influence
I want a monument kinda like the Eiffel Tower.
I want to be remembered for something grand, like the famous landmark
I been lost at sea, I been lost in space,
I've been lost and aimless, whether literally or figuratively
And when I fall in love I fall all over the place.
When I love someone, I get swept up in it and act erratically
And you can go on forever and make the same mistakes,
You can keep repeating your errors indefinitely
Or you can stand up on your hind legs and change your fate.
Or you can take control of your life and alter its course
Go on and do it till you finally see,
Keep trying until you see a positive change
What it is that it was that you don't want to be.
Identify the negative aspects of yourself that you want to change
I was an outlaw, I was an in-law,
I've been both an outsider and a member of a family
I was a scapegoat, that was the last straw.
I was blamed unfairly and it was too much to bear
I hit the highway, singin' my way,
I left town with a carefree attitude, expressing myself through song
But it wound up sounding like 'you’ll never walk alone'.
But it turned out to sound lonely and pitiful, like a desperate plea for company
I got a story, reflected glory,
I have a narrative and some accomplishments, but they pale in comparison to others
Is the way that I been seeing for most of my life.
It's been my perspective for a long time
I heard the laughter, up in the rafters,
I heard others laughing at me or my situation from a distance
But I never ever thought that the joke was on me.
But I never realized that I was the one being ridiculed
Contributed by Alexandra C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Kodanshi Helcarver
Just goes to show how incredible this band and song is: no dislikes!
Mr Veritas
Great song!
ReyaitheShadowWolf
Awesome song! I each of these guys!
Michael Wise
The song that says it all
Sacrificial Lamb
This is the best Highwaymen song in my opinion
M Niazi
Highwaymen is one of the kind...
Rebel Jack
Way too under-rated. An Amazing song.
Diane Jarmon
I love this, I wonder who wrote it
Shagg
Hey man what can I tell ya, it is what it is!
Ronnie Gibboni
Badass