"Road to Joy" is the last song on Bright Eyes' 2005 album ''

I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning ''I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning'' is the sixth studio album by American band Bright Eyes, released on January 25, 2005 by Saddle Creek Records (the same day as their seventh album, ''Digital Ash in a Digital Urn''). The album will be reissued ...

''. It was written by Conor Oberst. The name of the album is taken from a lyric in the song.

Structure

The song begins with a fingerpicking section combined with an

interpolation In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has a n ...

of a melody strongly based on

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's Symphony No. 9. As the song progresses, it builds into a march, with the introduction of trumpets and horns. Near the end, everything fades out as Oberst delivers the final verse, and then all of the instruments come in at once in a loud frenzy, and continue for about 30–45 seconds before fading out and ending the album.

Live performances

The song is a staple of Bright Eyes' live performances, and is often played as a concert finale. After performing the song on ''

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing from January 3, 2005, to December 19, ...

'', Oberst and trumpeter Nate Walcott destroyed their instruments.

Personnel

* Conor Oberst – guitar, vocals * Mike Mogis – 12-string guitar *

Nate Walcott Nate Walcott (born March 6, 1978) is an American musical composer, arranger, pianist, keyboardist, and trumpeter. He has composed the scores for several feature-length films, including 2014's ''The Fault in Our Stars''. He is a member of the ba ...

– trumpet * Clark Baechle – drums *

Matt Maginn Matt Maginn is a musician from Omaha, Nebraska. He plays bass guitar in the indie-rock band Cursive and is a frequent contributor on a number of Bright Eyes records. He was also a founding member of Slowdown Virginia. He also helps run Team Lo ...

– bass *

Alex McManus Alex McManus is a musician from Omaha, Nebraska currently based in Vancouver, BC. He has played with such bands as Acorns, Empire State, Lambchop, Vic Chesnutt, and Bright Eyes. He is also in his own band called The Bruces. Selected discography ...

– guitar * Nick White – organ

Structure

Live performances

Personnel

See also