72
DECEMBER2015
AMERICANWAY
It leadsyououtofNashvilleon16
lanesofconcreteandheadssouthwest
forMemphis, then itgentlyrollssouth
toNewOrleans. Itsbacksidemeanders
through long, lonesomestretchesof
Mississippi,pastNatchez,Tupeloand
MuscleShoals, allbutcallingout to
ClarksdaleandCleveland,Tennessee.
At firstglance, there’snotawhole lot
to lookat, stop forormakenoteof. It
looksbeatdown,usedup. Notempty
like theopenspacesof theWest,but
emptybecauseeverybodyclosedshop.
Theywerecottonpickersonce,until
themachinescame.So theymovedon.
But thecotton fieldsarestill there.
Occasionally they’re interrupted
by the laststubbornstandsof tobacco,
struggling for justone lastseason.
When it’snotdrippinghot, it’sdrip-
pingwarm;theair isclose, the insects
closer,andmostoftheyear, thewhole
place iscoloredamillionshadesofyellow.
The inclination is torollup the
windows,blast theair-conditioningand
head forGraceland, theFrenchQuarter
and finallybackup to theGrandOle
Opryas fastasyoucan.But take it from
me:This is the time toslowwaydown,
open thewindowsand listen.
There’saroad
—though insomeplacesnotmuchofone—that
carvesoutaskinnytriangleofAmerica, from
MusicCitytoBluffCitytotheCrescentCityandback.
NASHVILLE
MEMPHIS
NEWORLEANS
CLARKSDALE
I LLUSTRAT ION AND LETTER ING :
ARTMAN;
PHOTOS :
LUCKY R IDERS
LEFTTORIGHT
:
LuckyRidersCurtLisius,ToddStopera,
ButchWalker,MikeWolfe,MattEddmenson,
RobbieWolfe,DanAuerbachandDaveOhrt
