2025 Competition Entry:
40 Miles From Midnight by Michael Henchman
- Submitted:
- 2 Comments
Genre
Folk
Artist
Website
Co-writer(s)
no
Performer(s)
Michael – vocal, acoustic and electric guitars, bass
Radoslav Lorkovic – piano, accordion
Anders Bergstrom – drums
Skip VonKuske – cello
Radoslav Lorkovic – piano, accordion
Anders Bergstrom – drums
Skip VonKuske – cello
Description
The lyric grew out of a trip that I took a number of years ago across the Mojave Desert (California) at night, being on the road from a short holiday in Las Vegas. I noticed that I could turn off my headlights and still see the road due to the full moon (it was late, there were no other cars on the road). Way off in the distance I could see the faint light glow of Bakersfield. The lines in the first two verses of the song took shape in my mind as I navigated the inner feeling of freedom and of almost flying, the smooth hum of the car, and my imaginings of being between the coming and the going… as someone might feel in leaving a relationship… that sense of resignation mixed with reminiscence.
Bio
Hailing from the evergreen Pacific Northwest, Michael Henchman’s thoughtful, imagery-rich songwriting often draws inspiration from roads less traveled that have beckoned since childhood – living across the U.S., in Europe, and many years in central Alaska – to create a contemporary sound that is at once warm and reminiscent. His music has been described as “progressive folk, mixed with redwoods, diners, grassy plains, a generous dash of longing, and a bit of road dust for texture.” His life experiences instilled a deep reverence for wide cinematic landscapes – both real and metaphorical; of life’s side roads that often beckon, of how the heart becomes entangled by time and distance, of the tangible and the elusive, of journeys on the quest for connective meaning that we all share.
“It is in these quieter places that what is true and real becomes more apparent,” Michael says. “One can feel the unbroken connection to the pulse of life.”
Michael is preparing the release of his third collection of songs in January 2025 – “If The Sky Fell” – a mix of alternative and contemporary folk, roots, country, even a touch of jazz; full-band arrangements with spacious, textural stylings.
He began listening intently to music at an early age, falling under the music spell of an eclectic range of artists in folk, pop, jazz, funk, gospel, and the long-form orchestral compositions of prog-rock, eventually being influenced to write songs by the work of such insightful writers as Jackson Browne, John Gorka, David Wilcox, Shawn Colvin, Richard Shindell, Dave Carter, and the inimitable Jimmy Webb, one of his favorites.
As part of his travels, Michael headed to Alaska to work as a pipe laborer during the early days of the TransAlaska Pipeline construction. The project was, in many ways, like the Gold Rush era of 80 years prior… people wending their way north to work hard, chasing their dreams, sometimes losing it all. The wild was always just over one’s shoulder, waiting for both the hardy and the foolish to test their mettle and their luck. Michael was inspired by the continuity of how life hangs on in such an unusual place, and ended up living there for three decades… land of the midnight sun, moonscape winters, verdant summers, lofty mountains, aurora borealis, braided rivers, and other splendid wonders.
Over the years, Michael has performed in various folk, rock-n-roll and jazz bands – as bassist, vocalist, and guitarist – and he has also composed instrumental music for public television in Alaska. He continues to search for stories from the many places that people call home.
“It is in these quieter places that what is true and real becomes more apparent,” Michael says. “One can feel the unbroken connection to the pulse of life.”
Michael is preparing the release of his third collection of songs in January 2025 – “If The Sky Fell” – a mix of alternative and contemporary folk, roots, country, even a touch of jazz; full-band arrangements with spacious, textural stylings.
He began listening intently to music at an early age, falling under the music spell of an eclectic range of artists in folk, pop, jazz, funk, gospel, and the long-form orchestral compositions of prog-rock, eventually being influenced to write songs by the work of such insightful writers as Jackson Browne, John Gorka, David Wilcox, Shawn Colvin, Richard Shindell, Dave Carter, and the inimitable Jimmy Webb, one of his favorites.
As part of his travels, Michael headed to Alaska to work as a pipe laborer during the early days of the TransAlaska Pipeline construction. The project was, in many ways, like the Gold Rush era of 80 years prior… people wending their way north to work hard, chasing their dreams, sometimes losing it all. The wild was always just over one’s shoulder, waiting for both the hardy and the foolish to test their mettle and their luck. Michael was inspired by the continuity of how life hangs on in such an unusual place, and ended up living there for three decades… land of the midnight sun, moonscape winters, verdant summers, lofty mountains, aurora borealis, braided rivers, and other splendid wonders.
Over the years, Michael has performed in various folk, rock-n-roll and jazz bands – as bassist, vocalist, and guitarist – and he has also composed instrumental music for public television in Alaska. He continues to search for stories from the many places that people call home.
Lyrics
40 Miles from Midnight
© Michael Henchman
Tearing dust from desert floor
Darkness draped on billboard signs
City bursting out up ahead
A thousand points of light
Air slides cool around my neck
Moon chasing Galileo’s dream
Car been hummin’ all night long
Sure is a fine machine
[chorus]
When you gonna stop your runnin’?
She asked me
Come on back to this town?
But I’m 40 miles from midnight
And a million more from clear sight
No sign of slowing down
And you’re sleeping by that rumbling street
Where water drips and the door is loose
Couldn’t talk you into this trip out west
So much to feel, so hard to choose
How far back the memory goes
Truly hard to say
These old two-lanes from another time
It’s where I know my way
[bridge]
You wish that I could give up this wandering
But no place feels like home
Rocks in my shoes never bothered me
It’s better like this, I know
[chorus]
When you gonna stop your runnin’?
She asked me
Come on back to this town?
But I’m 40 miles from midnight
And a million more from clear sight
No sign of slowing down
[outro]
Yes I’m 40 miles from midnight
And a million more from clear sight
Ain’t goin’ back to that town
© Michael Henchman
Tearing dust from desert floor
Darkness draped on billboard signs
City bursting out up ahead
A thousand points of light
Air slides cool around my neck
Moon chasing Galileo’s dream
Car been hummin’ all night long
Sure is a fine machine
[chorus]
When you gonna stop your runnin’?
She asked me
Come on back to this town?
But I’m 40 miles from midnight
And a million more from clear sight
No sign of slowing down
And you’re sleeping by that rumbling street
Where water drips and the door is loose
Couldn’t talk you into this trip out west
So much to feel, so hard to choose
How far back the memory goes
Truly hard to say
These old two-lanes from another time
It’s where I know my way
[bridge]
You wish that I could give up this wandering
But no place feels like home
Rocks in my shoes never bothered me
It’s better like this, I know
[chorus]
When you gonna stop your runnin’?
She asked me
Come on back to this town?
But I’m 40 miles from midnight
And a million more from clear sight
No sign of slowing down
[outro]
Yes I’m 40 miles from midnight
And a million more from clear sight
Ain’t goin’ back to that town
Leave a comment
Beautiful!
Nice production it’s great how these ‘travelling songs’ are inspired by the vastness of the American continent something we don’t have here in the uk 👍