"On the Road" is a song written by

Bob McDill Robert Lee McDill (born April 4, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, active from the 1960s until 2000. During his career he wrote or co-wrote 31 number one country hits. His songs were also recorded by popular artists of the 1970s, 1980s an ...

, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Lee Roy Parnell Lee Roy Parnell (born December 21, 1956) is an American country music and blues artist, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Active since 1990, he has recorded eight studio albums, and has charted more than twenty singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot C ...

. It was released in August 1993 as the lead-off single and title track from his album of the same name. It peaked at number 6 in the United States, and number 12 in Canada.

Content

The song consists of three vignettes featuring various characters (a neglected young wife, an underachieving teenager whose father has voiced his disappointment in him, and a retired couple whose children have forgotten them and never visit), who all flee their troubled or unfulfilling lives (in a Ford Fairlane, and "hot rod

Chevy Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and oust ...

" and an

Airstream Airstream is an American brand of travel trailer ("caravan" in British English) easily recognized by the distinctive shape of its rounded and polished aluminum coachwork. This body shape dates back to the 1930s and is based on the Bowlus Road C ...

trailer, respectively) and find adventure on the road.

Music video

The music video was directed by

Michael Oblowitz Michael Oblowitz is a South African filmmaker. Early life and education Oblowitz was born in Cape Town where he grew up surfing in the 1970s. He is a Fine Arts and Philosophy graduate of the University of Cape Town. He received an M.F.A. in Fi ...

Chart positions

"On the Road" debuted at number 67 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of August 21, 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:On The Road (Song) 1993 songs Lee Roy Parnell songs 1993 singles Songs written by Bob McDill Song recordings produced by Scott Hendricks Arista Nashville singles