“Miles Away” — Marc Cohn

I know there’s always something

We have to go through

That has some deeper meaning

Right now I just can’t say

I know there’s a lesson in here somewhere

I’m gonna think a lot about it later

Right now I’m miles away

This is one of those songs that’s good on the album and terrific in concert. There’s a lot more ominous percussion when it’s live. I’ve always liked this song because it thrums with energy and determination, and — even though it’s essentially about someone running away from his problems — it strikes me as having a hopeful note.

At the show in Bay Shore in 2006, Marc explained the backstory to this one. He had signed his record deal and was in LA working with someone the record company had sent over to produce. But they just didn’t share any vision of the album. Eventually, Marc just walked out. As a newly-signed, never-released quirky singer/songwriter, he crossed a rubicon that you just don’t cross in the music industry. He got on a plane for New York City thinking that his recording career was over. This song came to him and wouldn’t let him go.

Happily, smarter heads prevailed back at the record company, he was able to get a producer he could work with, and the breakthrough Marc Cohn was made and released. The rest, as they say, was history — a blistering torrent of four albums in sixteen years. 🙂