Hello from the northeast corner of the Sooner State, where we will see a Frank Lloyd Wright tower, visit the Bob Dylan archives and manage to squeeze in an interview. Here’s a few tunes to keep us company until we hit the state line.
Okie from Muskogee: I mean, this is a requirement for this list, right?
You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma: Miracle is not a good singer, but she insists on crooning along to this one and it’s one of the many, many reasons I love her.
Tulsa Time: Take a pedestrian beat and lyrics and then let everyone in the whole world cover this one. Still, there’s a reason everyone covers this song. It’s like telling a story everyone knows but doing your own shit with it. The little flourishes really make Jason Boland and the Stragglers’ version: the fiddler working overtime and playing the instrument like the mountain instrument and not like a country violin, the drummer’s keepin’ time while the steel guitar simply reels, and the lead vocals? Perfect.
Hard Times in New York Town: Whooo boy, you have to dig for this Dylan song. Despite referencing nearly every state we’ve traversed so far, Oklahoma only gets a mere mention in this never-on-an-official-album Dylan tune. And what does he have to say about Oklahoma? Well, he’d rather deal with its dust than the filth of NYC. Burn on the Big Apple.
On the Road with Adie 