Detour Lyrics
Because of me not knowin', I now pine
Trouble got in the trail, spent the next five years in jail
Should have read that detour sign
Detour, there's a muddy road ahead, detour
Paid no mind to what it said
Detour, oh these bitter things I find
Should have read that detour sign
When I got right to the place where it said 'about face'
I thought that all my worries were behind
But the farther I go, the more sorrow I know
Should have read that detour sign
Detour, there's a muddy road ahead, detour
Paid no mind to what it said
Detour, oh these bitter things I find
Should have read that detour sign
Let's go
When I got stuck in the mud all my hopes dropped with a thud
I guess that my heart strings were made of twine
No willpower to get from the hole I'm in yet
Should have read that detour sign
Paid no mind to what it said
Detour, oh these bitter things I find
Should have read that detour sign
Should have read that detour sign
Should have read that detour sign
About
Cyndi Lauper (with country legend Emmylou Harris) does a pretty straightforward cover of an ancient country song: Detour, written in 1945 by Paul Westmoreland. It was a minor hit in 1945 for Jimmy Walker (with Westmoreland on the fiddle). Then it went huge in 1946, with versions by Spade Cooley, Wesley Tuttle, Elton Britt, and Foy Willing each reaching the Country Top 10. Patti Page managed to get a long run in the Country Top 10 again in 1951. Then the song went quiet – a couple covers here and there, but none of them charting.
“Detour” serves as the title of Cyndi Lauper’s 2016 album as well, and it’s a good representative of the album: almost every song is a country standard that hasn’t been on the charts in over 50 years.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
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- 3.Misty Blue
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- 10.I Fall to Pieces
