Chock full of references and lessons from beyond the grave "The Ride" is a country music classic, written by Gary Lee Gentry and John Blayne Detterline, and recorded by David Allan Coe in 1983. The song tells the story of a hitchhiker's encounter with the ghost of Hank Williams, Sr. during a ride from Montgomery, Alabama to Nashville, Tennessee. The mysterious driver, "dressed like 1950, half drunk and hollow-eyed" and driving an "antique Cadillac" (referring to the baby blue 1952 Cadillac convertible that Williams died in), questions the rider about his musical talent and dedication to becoming a star in the country music industry.
Writer Gary Gentry has said that there is a "mysterious magic" connected with this song, considering some of the coincidences or synchronicities that occurred during it's composition. Gentry had a strange experience with the song when he was looking up the date of Williams' death in his autobiography and opened the book to the exact page. Later, when they were performing the song at the Opry House for a television show, the lights and power in the Opryland complex went out during the last verse when the lyrics mention "Hank."
As a bonus to this charming live performance from 1983, we have a candid interview from Bocephus himself (Hank Jr.) where he speaks to the changing state of the country music industry. What do you think of this classic Coe cut?
