The group America brings us today’s classic song of the day, “Ventura Highway.” It was released as a single in September of 1972 and went to #8 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, and #3 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart.
Written by group member Dewey Bunnell, this is the one with the lyric about “alligator lizards in the air.” Dewey has written some odd and obtuse lyrics before (case in point, previous classic song of the day “Horse With No Name“), and this another one. I’d thought it was maybe, possibly, about flying dragons, but it turns out that’s not the case. Here’s what it’s really about, per Mr. Bunnell:
“The ‘alligator lizards in the air’ came from another actual memory of living in California. My brother and I used to catch lizards and snakes all the time. There is an actual animal here called an alligator lizard. But this was also referring to a cloud formation, a shape. A long cloud that reminded me of an alligator lizard.”
So the line’s about looking at a cloud and thinking it looks like a lizard. I saw a horsie—and it had no name.
Here’s what else Mr. Bunnell remembers about writing “Ventura Highway”:
“[The song] “reminds me of the time I lived in Omaha as a kid and how we’d walk through cornfields and chew on pieces of grass. There were cold winters, and I had images of going to California. So I think in the song I’m talking to myself, frankly: ‘How long you gonna stay here, Joe?’ I really believe that ‘Ventura Highway’ has the most lasting power of all my songs. It’s not just the words—the song and the track have a certain fresh, vibrant, optimistic quality that I can still respond to”
Here’s something else about “Ventura Highway.” It includes the lyrics “Sorry boy but I’ve been hit by purple rain.” No idea what Dewey meant by that, but apparently Prince copped it for his song, “Purple Rain,” and corresponding movie and album.
I always liked America for its tight three-part harmonies, which “Ventura Highway” has in spades. I especially like the little “doo doo doo doo” bits after each chorus. Hard not to sing along with this one.
For today’s daily bonus video of the day, here’s America performing “Ventura Highway” live on the West German Musikladen television program in 1975. The boys could sing, that’s for sure.
