Dare I write this? Maybe this is mostly an exploration of an idea. I know unequivocally what I personally find to be the most perfect song I’ve ever heard. You may say I’m full of shit. I can’t argue with that. No doubt there are hundreds if not thousands of perfectly perfect songs. It’s just that every time I listen to this one, I can’t help but feel it is a work of such pure genius that all singer-songwriters should at least be familiar with it. But, like I say, this is an exploration, maybe a journey in musical and aesthetic thinking.

Of course, there are so many great compositions that have been written over the years. America’s first super popular song was Stephen Foster’s little ditty “Oh! Susanna.” It was one of his first published pieces. He was 21 in 1848 when it was published. Songwriting is such a noble tradition. There are just a few universally beloved tunes that have popped up (joke) over the years: Joni Mitchell’s “Clouds” comes to mind; so does Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind;” Paul McCartney’s “Yesterday:”; John Lennon’s “Imagine;” Neil Young’s “Old Man;” Cat Stevens’ “Morning Has Broken;” James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain:” Carole King’s “It’s Too Late;” Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer:” and Van Morrison’s “Brown-eyed Girl.”

Yes, the list is insanely long. I know you have twenty more to add to the paragraph above. Also a lot of astounding work has been the result of teams and groups over the years – Elton John and Bernie Taupin; Mick Jagger and Keith Richards; Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. etc.. These days singer-songwriter collaborative camps and houses put the whole creative process on a different artistic level.

Perfect?

But one thing I know has to be true is that somewhere in the back of many singer-songwriter’s minds is at least the idea of the perfect song (I’m not sure that’s the same as an “ideal” song). That list of beloved hits I offered in the second paragraph above is, in my humble opinion, a grouping of work that comes close to perfection. Most of those writers probably have numerous other songs that deserve consideration as well. Likely, they would even offer examples us lesser mortals never think about.

So what do I mean by “perfect,” anyway? Obviously, perfection is a purely subjective notion. Somehow, though, the connection between melody, lyrics, musicianship, and production has to all play in simultaneously. It’s a tough call, too, because the average musician has their prejudices and stylistic proclivities. Music buffs as well. I know people who can’t stand Neil Young’s voice; others think that Bob Dylan’s croak is comical. I had a few friends in college who hated Paul McCartney because they thought the Rolling Stones were always more interesting and cool than the Beatles. And during the punk and grunge years there were musicians who despised Joni Mitchell’s songs because they were so sweet and precious and emotional.

Personally, I pay attention to the question of whether I ever get sick of listening to a song. I love Jackson Browne’s twin “The Load Out/Stay” on his Running on Empty album. Joan Armatrading’s “Show Some Emotion” years ago used to give me the chills with all it’s rhythmic and emotional shifts. Joe Jackson’s “Stepping Out,” is a go-to for me if I’m feeling depressed. Midnight Oil’s “Blue Sky Mining,” is close to the perfect rock song. Same with, if you will pardon the obvious, The Beatles’ “Get Back,” which has seemed to me for years the song that rock ‘n’ roll was trying to create all along for the world. I also ain’t forgetting Gregg Allman. He is one of the most gifted blues songwriters I know of (track down accounts of when he showed up as the last member of what would become The Allman Brothers Band). He penned it years later, but Gregg’s “Multi-Colored Lady” is as beautiful and touching as any song anyone’s ever come up with.

And the Winner Is…

I’ve gone through periods of my life where I have literally listened to each of those songs listed here on a loop for several hours, wondering if I will ever feel that I’ve had my fill. Never happened with any of them. Right now, I’m listening to Van Morrison’s “Dweller on the Threshold” because it feels, as always, so transcendent through its blend of lyrics and simple, driving melody.

The perfection thing, to me, is all about lyrical directness, simplicity and poetry, coupled with a melody that’s both somewhat predictable and obvious, but also mysteriously surprising, adorned with shifts and changes that pull the listener further into the song than they thought they were going to go.

So, Cheryl Wheeler’s “Driving Home” has always stunned me and seems as perfect as any song could ever be. Its straightforward poetry about that feeling of being on the road (by yourself) heading back to a place that you know you belong is a universal for all of us highway riding fools. She starts out with these lines:

“I was drivin home
By the river side
Richard Thompson on
And the day so fine.
Pennsylvania towns
Sort of slip right by
In a soft line south
Under purple skies.”

Nothing to it, right? Yeah, sure. Just some simple pop folk from the ’90s. You and I and pretty much most anyone else hasn’t come up with a first verse like that ever. Of course, you need to add in multiple layers of acoustic guitars at play with each other, dulcimer, piano, soft bass, gentle drums, and Cheryl’s stunningly warm, emotional, and angelic vocals. Also, no telling who came up with the guitar harmonics as punctuation here and there. Everything so seemingly simple. Everything so sonically complex. And so, so, so goosebump brilliant.

Sometimes I want to cry listening to Cheryl’s tender voice, remembering that interstate feeling whether heading back to my hometown in Missouri or driving towards Philly from anywhere here on the old east coast. And sometimes I wonder about my sons driving here to the house they grew up in, our home now for over 35 years.

Forgive me, then, this essay. I hate being any kind of analyst about the arts, and really just simply think I’m suggesting you should listen to the song, but one thing I want to point out is that all the rhymes in those lines above and most of the rest of the song are by no means easy or obvious. But they’re pretty straightforward and sensible too. That’s the key to great lyrics. The combination of inobvious with straightforward proves that songs (actually, all art that works) live inside each of us before we ever experience them, even though we don’t know it.

Cheryl Wheeler does not get enough credit anywhere mainstream for her songwriting. She sticks closer to certain folk traditions than most people working these days. Yes, she is politically direct. She also has a wonderful sense of humor, both on-stage and in many of the songs she writes. I hear she’s out on the road again performing after a hiatus to take care of some stuff. She is a great treasure that anyone who loves American music needs to pay attention to.

Maybe the correct answer here is that every song is perfect. I can live with that as the conclusion to this exploration. Still, here are full lyrics and a YouTube link to “Driving Home.” I have listened to it at a fairly high volume level a good 20-30 times as I’ve written this piece.

“Driving Home”

I was drivin home
By the river side
Richard thompson on
And the day so fine
Pennsylvania towns
Sort of slip right by
In a soft line south
Under purple skies

I was driving home
Through the sunday bells
Through the trailer towns
Through the rolling hills
From behind some cloud
The sun still shines
And the streams run down
The mountain sides

(Chorus)
Slow down what’s the hurry
There’s no rush today
There won’t be too many
Days like today

I was drivin’ home
On the black top tar
Up and down this road
Like a cartoon car
Mason-Dixon line
Slips behind me now
Golden fields go by
Golden sun goes down

(Repeat Chorus)

Driving home …
Driving home …

3/5/92
Penrod And Higgins Music / Amachrist Music
ACF Music Group
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