Night Drive: Penetrating Heartfelt Tribute

The first time I noticed this song, really noticed it, was last year on a local Saturday evening radio program called Folk Migrations. From the opening notes it was haunting. After a long intro the vocals finally emerged, melancholic and evocative.  

How bright the stars
How dark the night
How long have I been sleeping?
Sleep overtook me on my westward flight
Held me in its keeping
I had a dream; it seemed so real
Its passing left me shaking
I saw you're here behind the wheel
On this very road I'm taking

Hurtling westward through the prairie night
Under the spell of motion
Your eyes were clear and bright in the dashboard light
Dreaming of the western ocean
The dusty towns left far behind
Mountains drawing ever nearer
Your face was then as it was tonight
Ever young
Ever clearer

Based on the mood and the lyrics, I assumed I was listening to a breakup song. Clearly the there was heartbreak in the air. The singer/narrator had been shattered. 

When I arrived home a little while later I found the song on YouTube so I could listen again. Strangely, I did not recognize the real story behind the song. I recognized the emotions, but there's an ambiguity here that gives it a far vaster reach. Though the song was deeply personal, it encapsulates universal themes of memory, loss, and the passage of time. 

While researching the origins of the song I discovered the source of its power. It was not about an ex-girlfriend. Rather, it was a tribute to his late brother, Stan Rogers, with whom he traveled across North America during their music career in the 1970s and early 1980s. 

In the lyrics, Garnet describes a dream where he’s driving through the prairie night, and there’s Stan, right beside him, as real as ever. You can feel the weight of that moment—the motion of the car, the dark night, the stars above, and the overwhelming sense of Stan’s presence, like he never left. It’s haunting, the way Garnet captures that longing, mixing the joy of those shared memories with the pain of knowing they’re gone. He talks about things they did together—watching the northern lights, sharing a bottle of wine—and you get this vivid picture of their life on the road, not just the places they went, but the emotional journey they shared.

I know this road

And its every curve

Where the hills commence their climbing

We rested here

If my memory serves

The northern lights were shining

You lit a smoke

We shared some wine

We watched the sky in wonder

Your laughter echoes after all this time

In that high and wild blue yonder

Stan Rogers was Garnet's older sibling, a Canadian folk musician of stature, a brother he looked up to. In 2022 a good friend from our Dylan circles died. What moved me most was the manner in which Phil's three younger brothers respected and honored him at his funeral. Clearly this shines through in Garnet's tribute. Not only had Stan been an inspiration as an older brother, but even in his death his behavior was heroic. Here's the account from Wikipedia.

Rogers died alongside 22 other passengers most likely of smoke inhalation on June 2, 1983, while travelling on Air Canada Flight 797 while returning from performing at the Kerrville FolkFestival. The plane was flying from Dallas to Toronto and Montreal  when a fire from an unknown ignition source within the vanity or toilet shroud of the aft washroom forced an emergency landing at the Cincinnati airport in northern Kentucky. There were initially no visible flames, and after attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful, smoke filled the cabin. Upon landing, the plane's doors were opened, allowing the five crew and 18 of the 41 passengers to escape, but approximately 90 seconds into the evacuation the oxygen rushing in from outside caused a flash fire.   

Soon after his death, legends began to circulate about Rogers' final moments. Amber Frost claimed: Before most likely succumbing to smoke inhalation, he used his last moments to guide other passengers to safety with his booming voice. I’ve heard more than one Canuck proudly declare that for all Rogers’ odes to Canada, he was never more Canadian than in his final words: ‘Let me help you.'

I don't know why I write these lines

It's not like I could send you the letter

It's that I love your more after all this time

It's that I wish I'd shown you better

Years have slipped

Beneath my wheels

Dwindling in my rear view mirror

As time has passed

Your life has seemed less real

But these night drives bring you nearer

I know why he's written these lines. Garnet knows, too. It's all part of the grieving process, encapsulating memories, as well as regrets. The candor cuts deep when he says, "I love you more after all this time, I wish I'd shown you better." It's both beautiful and bittersweet.

So tonight I'll wish upon these stars

As they rise upward to guide me

That I'll see you here just as you are

Now, as then, beside me

Scares me how the years have flown

Like the leaves drift in September

They've lost sight of you as your legacy's grown

But this road and I

We remember

* * * 

Here's a link to the song: 

 

You can also check out this video of Stan Rogers.