Boulder to Birmingham

"Boulder to Birmingham" is a song written by Emmylou Harris and Bill Danoff which first appeared on Harris's 1975 album Pieces of the Sky. It has served as something of a signature tune for the artist and recounts her feelings of grief in the years following the death of country rock star and mentor Gram Parsons. Early in her career, Harris toured with Gram Parsons and sang on his two solo albums GP^[1] and the posthumously released Grievous Angel. The song is known for its chorus:

"I would rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham/I would hold my life in his saving grace/I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham/If I thought I could see, I could see your face."

Harris did not write again about Parsons' death in such a direct way until "The Road", a track from her 2011 album Hard Bargain, although "Michelangelo" from Red Dirt Girl certainly appears to be about Parsons too.

Bill Danoff recorded the song with his group, the Starland Vocal Band, on their self-titled debut album. A version of the song was a hit in New Zealand for The Hollies, reaching number ten there, and later appeared on their album A Crazy Steal. A version was recorded in 1975 by Scott Walker and The Walker Brothers on their No Regrets album. In 2012, American alternative rock band, The Fray, released a cover of the song featuring Harris as a bonus track on their record, Scars & Stories.