What is the story behind The Way by Fastball?

They made up their minds, and they started packing They left before the sun came up that day An exit to eternal summer slacking But where were they going without ever knowing the way? They drank up the wine, and they got to talking They now had more important things to say And when their car broke down they started walking Where were they going without ever knowing the way? Anyone could see the road that they walk on is paved in gold It's always summer, they'll never get cold They'll never get hungry, they'll never get old and gray You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere They won't make it home but they really don't care They wanted the highway, they're happier there today, today The children woke up, and they couldn't find 'em They left before the sun came up that day They just drove off and left it all behind 'em (Leavin' it all behind) Where were they going without ever knowing the way? Anyone could see the road that they walk on is paved in gold It's always summer, they'll never get cold They'll never get hungry, they'll never get old and gray You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere They won't make it home but they really don't care They wanted the highway, they're happier there today, today Anyone could see the road that they walk on is paved in gold It's always summer, they'll never get cold They'll never get hungry, they'll never get old and gray You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere They won't make it home but they really don't care They wanted the highway, they're happier there today, today (Leavin' it all behind)

Lyrics submitted by sawg, edited by Sinick

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One of the biggest radio hits of the ’90s was a wacky rock song by the band Fastball called “The Way”. The song has that classic catchy 90’s alt rock vibe but the lyrics make you wonder what the song is actually about. It turns out, the song is an ode to Fastball lead singer Tony Scalzo’s fascination with the unsolved mystery of the deaths of Lela and Raymond Howard.

Here’s the song’s music video:

In 1997, the Howards were an elderly couple living in Salado, Texas who planned to go to a fiddling festival only 15 miles from their home. Lela Howard was 83-years-old and was showing signs that she was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Raymond Howard was 88-years-old and had recently suffered a stroke and a head injury which required surgery. The Howard’s son had called that morning concerned about his parents’ cognitive health and begging them to let him drive them to the festival. The couple said they would be fine, since they attend the festival every year.

Lela and Raymond Howard never returned home.

500 miles away a police officer pulled the couple over for driving at night with their headlights off. Lela, who was driving, couldn’t tell the officer where they lived. The officer gave her a warning to turn her lights on and sent them on their way.

Three days after the couple was reported missing by their children, they attended a farmer’s market in Arkansas. A search of the couple’s home revealed that they left their cat, toiletries, and clothing behind. The calendar in the Howard home was displaying February, though it was June when they left.

Family photograph of Lela and Raymond Howard, KVUE

14 days after the couple left for a 15 mile trip they were found with their car at the bottom of a cliff near Hot Springs, Arkansas. There were no skid marks on the road at the top of the cliff, indicating that they had not slowed down before flying off of it, either because they could not see or understand that they were driving off a cliff, or because at least one of them was suicidal.

Tony Scalzo read about the case right after the couple was reported missing, but before their bodies were found. His fascination turned into the lyrics for The Way:

They made up their minds And they started packing They left before the sun came up that day An exit to eternal summer slacking
But where were they going without ever knowing the way

They drank up the wine And they got to talking They now had more important things to say And when the car broke down They started walking

Where were they going without ever knowing the way

Anyone can see the road that they walk on is paved in gold And it’s always summer They’ll never get cold They’ll never get hungry They’ll never get old and gray You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere They won’t make it home But they really don’t care They wanted the highway

They’re happier there today

Their children woke up And they couldn’t find ’em They left before the sun came up that day They just drove off and left it all behind ’em Leaving it all behind

But where were they going without ever knowing the way?

Despite this case’s gruesome end, frontman Tony Scalzo says, “It’s a romanticized take on what happened.” The Howards’ children reported that they were happy the couple was together when they died.

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