August 15, 2025      —–     Chart #311

Hello Music Friends,

Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. Some folks dream of sandy beaches and turquoise seas. Me? I’ll take a road that’s straight as a rifle barrel, stretching clear to the horizon, with the faint smell of barbecue drifting in from somewhere you can’t see yet. That’s the spirit behind Miles and Miles of Texas—a song that’ll make you want to trade in your map for a gas pedal and a tank that never runs dry.

Written by Jim McGraw and the Western Sundowners back in the early-’60s (1961), this tune found its spiritual home when Asleep at the Wheel got their hands on it (1976). Their version swings like a saloon door in a West Texas windstorm—fiddles sawing, steel guitar crying, Ray Benson grinning like he just found an extra brisket in the smoker.

The lyrics are pure wanderlust wrapped in Lone Star pride. You can almost see the endless two-lane blacktop, the roadhouses with names like “The Rusty Spur,” and a sky so big it could swallow your troubles whole. It’s a love letter to Texas, written with the casual confidence of someone who’s driven every last dusty mile.

And playing it? Well, it’s a treat. The chords are friendly, the tempo’s got a dance-hall bounce, and the melody’s the kind that gets your boot tapping before you realize you’ve moved from tapping to two-stepping. If you’ve got a fiddle player handy, this is their moment to shine. If you don’t, hum loud and pretend—it’s Texas, no one’s judging.

Asleep at the Wheel’s take turned Miles and Miles of Texas into a Texas dance hall anthem, the kind of song that makes you forget about gas prices and start calculating how many brisket tacos you can eat before Amarillo.

So the next time you feel the urge to roam, crank this one up, roll down the windows, and point your hood ornament toward the sunset. Just remember—it’s a mighty big state, and you’ve got miles and miles to go.

Keep Rockin’,

Stan Bradshaw