What is it about Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band? I mean all the songs have “something” do you know what I mean? For instance, “The Fire Inside” their 1991 hit. The verse “Like wind on the plains, sand through the glass, waves rolling in the tide, dreams die hard and we watch them erode, but we cannot be denied. The Fire Inside” Right there, you feel, you can not help, but feel. Then there is “You’ll Accomp’ny Me” from 1980 and the verse “I’ve seen you smiling in the summer sun, I’ve seen your long hair flying when you run, I’ve made my mind up that it’s meant to be, someday lady you’ll accomp’ny me.” As the song continues, it just gets better, “I’ll take my chances, babe, I’ll risk it all, I’ll win your love or I’ll take the fall” and then you are completely convinced that, yes, I will go wherever you want me to, Bob Seger and your Silver Bullets! Anywhere.
Then there is one of their best, “Turn the Page” from 1973, this song has a special memory for me.
The year was 1990, early January, and my Mom and I was driving back to Virginia from Utah, where my parents had a home. As you might imagine, the roads from Utah to Wyoming were covered with snow and the conditions were not the best, but we were seasoned drivers until we were not, a huge snowstorm hit us. We needed to stop and we did. We found a very small town in Wyoming with a motel and one Diner, finally! We checked in and the front desk attendant said the Diner had great cheeseburgers, but it may be crowded. My Mom and I were puzzled, crowded, here in the middle of nowhere, by whom? We were hungry and now a bit excited to check out this Diner.
We walked in and it was crowded, in fact, there was not a booth available and we had to sit at the bar. However, what was interesting and memorable to me was that every seat was taken by Cowboys, real Cowboys. These were men who had spent their entire long day on the range, in that storm, with cattle. Many still had their chaps and spurs on, my Mom and I were the only women in the diner. All the Cowboys gave us a respectful nod and a smile. As I sat on my stool, I will always remember one Cowboy with his spurs, walking up to the jukebox, placing in his quarter, and the song he played was “Turn the Page.” Now I know the song has nothing to do with Cowboys, but it will always remind me of that night, those Cowboys, how kind they were, their hard-working spirit, and the real West. Oh, and there is this verse from the song “Well, you walk into a restaurant, strung-out from the road, and you feel the eyes upon you as you’re shaking off the cold.” It fit.
I think perhaps why I love Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band is that their songs remind me of America.
What is your favorite Bob Seger song, and why? Join the Windy conversation.