Alex Cummings Music

9th October 2023

Minnesota started with me messing around with a chord progression and a few snatches of melody and, having listened to Coulter Wall’s fantastic “The Devil wears a suit and tie” on repeat for about a week, it’s no surprise that my character ended up heading down the 61 too. Now, I confess that my knowledge of US Highways leaves much to be desired, but I did recognise it from the Bob Dylan album. I promptly fell down a Wiki hole and discovered that Highway 61 goes from Minnesota all the way down to Louisiana, and is ideal for someone heading south. From there, the rest just seemed to flow.

The song tells the story of a young musician who dreams of finding success in the country music scene in Nashville, trying out his luck playing in the bars and honky-tonks I’d had the fortune of visiting when Mazz and I went for our honeymoon in 2021. However, he’s unsuccessful and feels like quitting, finding solace in the whisky-and-soda which conveniently was the only thing I could find to rhyme with Minnesota (thank you Perry Como!).

I’ve included the full lyrics below as well as the recording from its debut performance as part of my extended spot at the Aberdeen Folk Club last month. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! If you have any questions or comments please leave them below. Subscribe to my blog for my latest updates and follow me on Instagram for more content.