‘Ventura Highway’ is a 1972 song by the band America from their album Homecoming, written by Dewey Bunnell. The song went to number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 for America, spending 12 weeks on the charts after debuting on October 21, 1972. It also reached number 43 in the UK Singles Chart, staying in that chart for 4 weeks. Record World said that the "threesome come out of the desert and onto the road in this refreshing number that features those great harmonies and acoustic guitars."
America member Dewey Bunnell wrote this song. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times October 1, 2006, he explained: "It was 1963 when I was in seventh grade, we got a flat tire and we're standing on the side of the road and I was staring at this highway sign. It said 'Ventura' on it and it just stuck with me. It was a sunny day and the ocean there, all of it." Bunnell's father was in the Air Force and was stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Santa Barbara. They were on a trip in the Oxnard area of southern California when they got stranded.
Regarding the lyrics, "Seasons crying no despair, alligator lizards in the air," Bunnell said: "The clouds. It's my brother and I standing there on the side of the road looking at the shapes of clouds while my dad changed the tire." There's no official "Ventura Highway," but Ventura is a county in California, and Highway 101 runs through it. In Walk on By: The Story of Popular Song, Dewey Bunnell explained: "I remember vividly having this mental picture of the stretch of the coastlines traveling with my family when I was younger. Ventura Highway itself, there is no such beast, what I was really trying to depict was the Pacific Coast Highway, Highway 1, which goes up to the town of Ventura."
The song contains the phrase "purple rain", later the title of the 1984 song, album, film and tour, from the artist Prince. Whether any connection actually exists, both Mikel Toombs of The San Diego Union and Bob Kostanczuk of the Post-Tribune have written that Prince got the title directly from "Ventura Highway". Asked to explain the phrase "purple rain" in ‘Ventura Highway,’ Gerry Beckley responded: "You got me." The song won many fans, including the pro wrestler-turned-politician, Jesse Ventura. Bunnell recalled, "We went and played at Governor Jesse Ventura's inaugural out in Minneapolis. He asked us to — his wife is a horse lady, and she'd always loved 'A Horse with No Name', and he had adopted this name Ventura. So when he put together his cast of characters for his big inaugural celebration, he wanted us to come and play two songs, which we did".
Label – Warner Bros.
Songwriter – Dewey Bunnell
Producers – America
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]Chewing on a piece of grass
Walking down the road
Tell me, how long you gonna stay here, Joe?
Some people say this town don't look good in snow
You don't care, I know
[Chorus]
Ventura Highway in the sunshine
Where the days are longer
The nights are stronger than moonshine
You're gonna go
I know-uh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh
'Cause the free wind is blowing through your hair
And the days surround your daylight there
Seasons crying no despair
Alligator lizards in the air, in the air
[Hook]
Did di di di dit, did di di di dit
Did di di di dit, did di di di dit
Did di di di dit, did di di di dit
Did di di di dit, did di di di dit
Did di di di dit, did di di di dit
Did di di di dit, did di di di dit
[Verse 2]
Wishing on a falling star
Waiting for the early train
Sorry boy, but I've been hit by purple rain
Aw, come on, Joe, you can always
Change your name
Thanks a lot, son, just the same
[Chorus]
Ventura Highway in the sunshine
Where the days are longer
The nights are stronger than moonshine
You're gonna go
I know-uh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh
'Cause the free wind is blowing through your hair
And the days surround your daylight there
Seasons crying no despair
Alligator lizards in the air, in the air
[Outro]
Did di di di dit, did di di di dit (du du du du)
Did di di di dit, did di di di dit (du du du du)
Did di di di dit, did di di di dit (du du du du)
Did di di di dit, did di di di dit (du du du du)
Did di di di dit, did di di di dit (du du du du)
Did di di di dit, did di di di dit (du du du du)