My Gen X Playlist: Life is a Highway – Tom Cochrane

Roommate: Hey, what’s the matter?

Me: I was estimating my taxes. I think I owe two thousand dollars. I don’t have the money.

Roommate: How in the world do you owe that much money? You don’t make squat.

Me: I have no idea. All I know is I only have $500 in my checking account.

Roommate: You know what this means. We’re going to Vegas.

I was in my twenties and trying to figure out my taxes for the first time. Of course, twenties’ logic’s only remedy is to turn $500 into two grand at the black jack tables. We packed a bag and jumped in the car and drove to Vegas.

After a few hours at the tables, I lost all my money. My buddy loaned me two hundred and I lost that, too. Man, this was a bad idea. I decided to cash advance $300 on my credit card. Two hundred to pay my buddy back and $100 for the bar. But there was this little voice in my head as I stood in front of the cash advance machine. “You are due for a lucky streak. Don’t miss the good run.” Instead of punching $300 on the dial pad, I pressed $1,000. OK, now I have a bank roll. Let’s do this.

I ordered another drink after I lost another $950. This is not playing out like I imagined. Where was that good run that I was waiting for? The dealer tossed me a few cards and I hit a few times. I ended up busting with 22 while the dealer pulled 20. The funny thing was, the dealer didn’t take my chips and paid me as if I had won. She must have miscounted. My buddy and I exchanged glances that silently said, “Well, OK.” It turns out, that hand was the turning point.

From that point on, I couldn’t lose. There is a feeling of invincibility when you are on a lucky streak. It really is a high. By the end of the night, I won back all the money I had lost plus a thousand more. I went to bed having dug myself out of a massive hole and shaved off half my tax bill. There were a lot of emotions and adrenaline. I couldn’t sleep. What a relief.

The next morning, my buddy wanted to squeeze in a few more hours of black jack before we hit the road. It’s difficult watching when there is an open seat. Of course I sat down. The dealer recognized me from the day before and asked how my tax money was going. After I told her, she warned me not sit and take my winnings home safely. Of course, that little voice in my head said, “There’s one more run left at the tables before you go.” And the little voice was right. I managed to win the rest of my tax bill and we laughed all the way on the long drive home.

When I finally did my taxes, of course I didn’t owe two thousand dollars. How could I? I didn’t make squat. You’d think that I’d really run the numbers instead of doing a few calculations in my head. Although it was a roller coaster of ups and downs, I’m really thankful for that Vegas weekend. Is the moral of the story to go to Vegas when you are in a bind? No way. Looking back, that was crazy. But that was such a wild ride. Thank god I didn’t miss the run.

I found a list of best road trip songs. Tom Cochrane’s Life is a Highway came in number one.

It’s no wonder why the highway is used as a metaphor for the journey of life in Tom Cochrane‘s “Life is a Highway.” We traverse the roads and experience ups and downs, twists and turns, and unexpected detours along the way.

It’s this mixture of positive and negative experiences that makes life an adventure. The roads represent the path to self-discovery and new experiences.

– hellomusictheory

I doubt anyone will read this, but when this song came out I had just turned 15 and had hair just like Tom in this video. Every time this song would come on MTV, this girl that I had a crush on would call my house phone to tell me she was thinking of me. Over 30 years later and nostalgia kicks in hard with this song. Every time I hear it I am taken back to 1992, simpler times, great time to be a teenager. No distractions from cell phones, bullying on social media, growing up too fast etc. My friend had a car and we would just cruise around other small towns with no idea what was happening, by luck we would find a town carnival, or dance at a fire hall. I had this song on cassette single and I am sure it was played hundreds of times that summer. Thanks for reading my late night flashback.

– YouTube comment by J_Patterns

I’m not sure which nostalgia I’d rather have. J_Patterns or mine. I’m leaning towards his. . .

–

For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

Love's like a road that you travel on
When there's one day here and the next day gone
Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your back to the wind
There's a world outside every darkened door
Where blues won't haunt you anymore
Where the brave are free and lovers soar
Come ride with me to the distant shore
We won't hesitate
Break down the garden gate
There's not much time left today

Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I wanna drive it all night long

Through all these cities and all these towns
It's in my blood and it's all around
I loved you now like I loved you then
This is the road and these are the hills
From Mozambique to those Memphis nights
The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights
Knock me down, back up again
You're in my blood; I'm not a lonely man
There's no load I can't hold
Road so rough; this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell 'em we're survivors

Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I wanna drive it all night long
Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long (gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, yeah!)
If you're going my way
I wanna drive it all night long

There was a distance between you and I
A misunderstanding once
But now we look it in the eye (oh!)

There ain't no load that I can't hold
Road so rough, this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell 'em we're survivors

Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I wanna drive it all night long (gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, yeah!)
Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I wanna drive it all night long (gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, yeah!)
Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I wanna drive it all night long (gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, yeah!)