Story Behind The Song

A man wanders the land with a bluebird that he rescued after he found it with a broken wing, looking for his future in an uncertain world.

Song Description

A man wanders the land with a bluebird that he rescued after he found it with a broken wing, looking for his future across a heartless landscape. The metaphorical bluebird is his "spirit guide", and she cheers him on through the darkness with her song. Their truck breaks down during the journey, but they persevere through bad weather, hunger, midwestern hurricanes, and worse. They turn to hopping trains in order to continue their search and are often discovered and tossed off "like the trash." It's a whimsical story about man's search for his own destiny in an uncertain world.

Lyrics

That Old Rainbow
© 2019 Grant Maloy Smith

Found me a bluebird
With a broken wing
I fixed her up
She taught me to sing
Now we're a-searchin'
Lord, high and low
I've got to find
that pot of gold

Well, I've been looking
For That Old Rainbow
I've been hunting through
the wrong turns in my past
Well, I've been looking
For That Rainbow
But I'm looking
through the wrong end of the glass

July found us hungry
Light years from home
Damn truck fell to pieces
So we left it by the road
She had her singing
And I had my prayers
Found me a dollar bill
and we ate like millionaires

I've been looking
For That Old Rainbow
I've been hunting through
the wrong turns in my past
Well, I've been looking
For That Rainbow
But I'm looking
through the wrong end of the glass

Summer rains and hurricanes
Hopping trains and thrown off like the trash
We don't know where we're going
And it's fair to say that we done something rash

Well, I've been looking
For That Old Rainbow
I've been hunting through
the wrong turns in my past
Well, I've been looking
For That Rainbow
But I'm looking
through the wrong end of the glass
The wrong end of the glass!