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Any Road: Song Lyric Sunday

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Written for Song Lyric Sunday –
“A Hill of Beans Can Become
a Mountain of Trouble”
This is my response to the challenge.

© Quote Fancy

This week over at Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday, the theme is “A Hill of Beans Can Become a Mountain of Trouble”. Our challenge is to write about a song that mentions a hill or mountain, suggested by our friend Di of pensitivity101. Thanks, Di!

Yesterday was the 24th anniversary of George Harrison’s death. In honor of my most beloved Beatle, I have chosen a song from George’s solo work.

“Any Road” is the opening track on George Harrison’s final posthumous album, Brainwashed, which George started in 1996; it was completed by his son Dhani and friend/producer/fellow Traveling Wilbury, Jeff Lynne, after George’s death in 2001. The song was directly inspired by a sign George and his son saw on a beach in Hawaii. The sign read: “If the wind blows, you can always adjust your sails, but, if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there”. This quote is a direct parallel to the famous exchange between Alice and the Cheshire Cat in Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. 

George Harrison passed away from cancer, at the age of 58, before the album was finished; Dhani Harrison and Jeff Lynne worked on the project, aiming to finish it as George would have wanted. The song explores themes of spiritual and existential searching, reflecting George’s interest in Eastern philosophy. The lyrics describe traveling “on a wing and a prayer, by the skin of my teeth” and “by the breadth of a hair”, suggesting a life lived spontaneously and with a light heart. The central refrain, “if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there”, is a piece of philosophical advice that also reflects a sense of peace and acceptance. The song suggests that the sincerity of one’s journey is more important than the specific direction, a concept that aligns with the Buddhist Eightfold Path.

Despite being written by a man dealing with cancer and facing the end of his life, the song has a cheerful and optimistic feel. It is filled with a wry, cautious humor that has been described as a “hard won truth” from George Harrison’s life experience.

This is “Any Road” by George Harrison

LYRICS

Give me that plenty of that guitar

For I’ve been traveling on a boat and a plane
In a car on a bike with a bus and a train
Traveling there, traveling here
Everywhere in every gear

But, oh Lord, we pay the price
With the spin of the wheel with the roll of the dice
Ah yeah, you pay your fare
And if you don’t know where you’re going
Any road will take you there

And I’ve been traveling through the dirt and the grime
From the past to the future through the space and the time
Traveling deep beneath the waves
In watery grottoes and mountainous caves

But, oh Lord, we’ve got to fight
With the thoughts in the head with the dark and the light
No use to stop and stare
And if you don’t know where you’re going
Any road will take you there

You may not know where you came from
May not know who you are
May not have even wondered
How you got this far

I’ve been traveling on a wing and a prayer
By the skin of my teeth, by the breadth of a hair
Traveling where the four winds blow
With the sun on my face, in the ice and the snow

But, ooh wee, it’s a game
Sometimes you’re cool, sometimes you’re lame
Ah yeah, it’s somewhere
If you don’t know where you’re going
Any road will take you there

But, oh Lord, we pay the price
With the spin of the wheel with the roll of the dice
Ah yeah, you pay your fare
If you don’t know where you’re going
Any road will take you there

I keep traveling around the bend
There was no beginning, there is no end
It wasn’t born and never dies
There are no edges, there are no sides

Oh yeah, you just don’t win
It’s so far out, the way out is in
Bow to God and call him Sir
But if you don’t know where you’re going
Any road will take you there

And if you don’t know where you’re going
Any road will take you there
If you don’t know where you’re going
Any road will take you there

Written by: George Harrison
Recorded: c. 1996-2002
Producers: George Harrison,Jeff Lynne, Dhani Harrison
Released: November 18, 2002 
Personnel
George Harrison: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, banjolele
Jeff Lynne: vocals, bass guitar, piano
Dhani Harrison: vocals, electric guitar
Jim Keltner: drums

A Hill of Beans Can Become a Mountain of Trouble

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week and every week. Also thanks to Di for her excellent song suggestion. Be sure to follow the links and check out their sites.

Thanks for stopping by for a look and a listen.

That’s all she wrote, kids. See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2025

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy Richy and are not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.

51 thoughts on “Any Road: Song Lyric Sunday”

    1. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a beautiful comment, Christine. We’ve lost so many, haven’t we? There was something about George’s passing that really hurt. We were sad when John Lennon died, but we were also stunned and angry. With George, we were just so incredibly sad.

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    1. Neither can I, Di. I remember I was driving upstate to visit my mother and sister when the news came on the radio. I was so sad, I had to pull over onto the side of the road and just sit quietly for a while before I could continue driving. It’s quite remarkable the effect these four incredibly talented young men had on our lives. It was a time I will never forget. Thanks very much, Di.

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  10. Life will always be a mystery and wherever you go, there you are. Lovely choice, Nancy and it is always wonderful to hear a song form George Harrison. I spent most of my life not knowing where I was going, but I was not confused, as I was just enjoying the journey.

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  11. You’re right never would’ve known George was struggling with cancer when he wrote this. The song fills my poor tender heart, makes me happy to listen to it again. Great pick today, Nancy!

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  12. Knowing as I do that George was always your favorite Beatle, I always enjoy it when you spotlight one of his songs. I usually haven’t heard the song- but I always know there is a young girl’s infatuation built into every word- and I am always game to reexperience that!

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  16. Hella Good Tune, Nancy. I look at George as a spiritual mentor as much as a musician. His music has helped me cope more times than I can count. He always did his best and walked two roads better than anyone I’ve seen.

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    1. Your line about walking two roads is spot on, Lisa. For George, being famous and making a lot of money was just a bonus in life. He always said all he wanted to do was play his guitar and work in his garden. He’s always with me through his music. Thanks, Lisa.

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        1. The ones who found their way into our hearts are always there. I try to find a way to explain to people who aren’t into the Beatles how immensely and profoundly they impacted our lives in the most positive of ways. To say we loved them and not make it sound like a silly teen idol crush is impossible; someone once told me, I sounded like a member of a cult. This was an indescribable phenomenon that embraced millions of us at the time. I doubt we’ll ever see anything like that again and that’s one of the things that makes it so damn special.

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