“There are songs that come free from the blue-eyed grass, from the dust of a thousand country roads. This is one of them.”
Robert James Waller's quote encapsulates the profound connection between music, nature, and human experience. It suggests that some songs are born from the essence of life itself, drawing inspiration from the natural world and the journeys we undertake.
The phrase "songs that come free from the blue-eyed grass" evokes imagery of purity and simplicity, suggesting that these melodies arise organically from the beauty of the environment. Blue-eyed grass, a flowering plant, symbolizes both fragility and resilience, characteristics mirrored in the songs that resonate deeply within us.
The mention of "the dust of a thousand country roads" adds a layer of nostalgia, hinting at the stories and memories woven into the fabric of rural life. Country roads are often associated with travel, transition, and the passage of time, reinforcing the idea that music can capture the essence of our journeys—both physical and emotional.
Overall, Waller's quote invites us to reflect on the simplicity and depth of songs that speak to the human experience, reminding us that such music is often rooted in the elemental aspects of life and nature.
“The wild roses were wide open and brilliant, the blue-eyed grass was in purple flower, and the silvery milkweed was just coming on.”
“The sky is blue,' he said, 'the grass is green.' Looking up, he saw that, on the contrary, the sky is like the veils which a thousand Madonnas have let fall from their hair; and the grass fleets and darkens like a flight of girls fleeing the embraces of hairy satyrs from enchanted woods. 'Upon my word,' he said [...], 'I don't see that one's more true than another. Both are utterly false.”
“You ought to see it when it blooms, all dark red flowers from horizon to horizon, like a see of blood. Come the dry season, and the world turns the color of old bronze. And this is only hranna, child. There are hundred kinds of grass out there, grasses as yellow as lemon and as dark as indigo, blue grasses and orange grasses and grasses as rainbows.”
“Now understand me well--it is provided in the essence of things that from any fruition of success, no matter what, shall come forth something to make a greater struggle necessary. [from "Song of the Open Road"]”
“As we drove back to Enugu, I laughed loudly,above Fela's stringent singing. I laughed because Nsukka's untarred roads coat cars with dust in the harmattan and with sticky mud in the rainy season. Because the tarred roads spring potholes like surprise presents and the air smells of hills and history and the sunlight scatters the sand and turns it into gold dust. Because Nsukka could free something deep inside your belly that would rise up to your throat and come out as freedom song. As laughter.(299)”