Story Behind the Song: Vincent Neil Emerson (Feat. Colter Wall), ‘Road Runner’

Texas native Vincent Neil Emerson has made some important friends in the industry: His pal Charley Crockett helped Emerson make a name for himself in the Lone Star State, while his friendship with Colter Wall has led to a few tours together -- and a recorded collaboration.

On June 18, 2020, Emerson released "Road Runner," a brand-new song featuring Wall, and inspired by Emerson's wife Jeri. "It’s hard being away from the one you love," Emerson says, "but I’m lucky to have a good woman at home who puts up with all my s--t and still lets me in when I come home after every tour."

Below, Emerson shares more of the story behind "Road Runner," in his own words.

I wrote it a while back, after going on tour with my buddy Colter Wall for the first time. We got lucky enough to be in the same city at the same time and get ol' Colter to come sing a verse on this song for us ...

[When I wrote this song], I was starting to hit the road a lot with my band at the time, and my wife gave me a roadrunner pin for good luck. I was in the van one day looking at it, and I came up with the idea.

To put it simply, [the inspiration for the song came from] traveling -- living the life of a traveling musician. I wrote it pretty quick: in about 30 minutes or so.

I messed around with changing a few things since writing it, but for the most part, I haven’t changed it much since the first draft. The song had a life too, and I wanted to keep that.

My favorite lyric is one that I borrowed from Townes [Van Zandt's "I'll Be Here in the Morning"]: “Your whisper’s louder than the highway’s call to me." I just think it’s pure poetry. It’s always stuck with me, and reminded me of my wife.

WATCH: Vincent Neil Emerson Shares Acoustic 'Road Runner' Performance

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