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Been on the Road So Long

[Alex Campbell]

Alex Campbell recorded his song Been on the Road So Long in 1965 for a Transatlantic single with The Night Visiting Song on the B-side. He sang in at a concert on 16 August 1965 in Copenhagen, which was recorded and released in the same year on his Storyville album Alex Campbell in Copenhagen.

Sandy Denny recorded Been on the Road So Long twice in her early career. One version with Sandy singing solo was released in 1967 on Sandy and Johnny, in 1970 on the Saga LP Sandy Denny, in 2004 on her 5 CD Fledg’ling anthology A Boxful of Treasures, and in 2005 on Where the Time Goes.

A different version with Alex Campbell taking most of the vocal work - Sandy only repeats “so long” in the chorus - was released in 1967 on the Saga album Alex Campbell and His Friends. This version is the one included in the CD The Original Sandy Denny and was also re-released in 2005 on Where the Time Goes, together with the first version.

Sandy Denny recorded this song solo and live for the BBC Radio 1 programme “My Kind of Folk” on 26 June 1968. This recording was published in 2007 on the 3CD+DVD set Live at the BBC.

Lyrics

Sandy Denny sings Been on the Road So Long

I’ve been on the road, so long
Been tired and broke, so long
I’ve been to the south where the winds they were warm
Travelling the road of no return, so long

I’ve seen what was war, so long
The ruins and the scars, so long
The mansions of mud, the wounds and the blood
Seen the dying of all that was good, so long.

Seen the world in the shadow, so long
Is its mushrooming cloud, so long
And the lies and the greed of the leaders of men
Those cheats who would take us to war again, so long.

Yet hope is in me, so long
For it’s love that I see, so long
The courage and strength of the young men’s smile
The faith that’s in a little child, so long

I’ve travelled this road, so long
Have been tired and broke, so long
I’ve been to the south where the winds they were warm
Travelling the road of no return, so long