The Truth Trip

“I do recall that every moment spent was wasted time
But then I chose to lay it on the line

I want this all my life…”

The maroon passenger van left the wet terminal at around 4:15 in the afternoon. All I had with me was my overnight kit, an extra shirt and high hopes that I’d be able to get a ticket for a concert of a lifetime. As I stared at the blurry scenes of the road on the way to Naga City, my mind raced back to the very start of this fan trip.
The year was 1978 and I was about to enter senior high. The music of the times was folk rock. Most of the guys in school were into Eric Clapton and CSNY. To stand out, I needed to lay my hands on music that would tow me away from Saturday Night Fever and make me “one of the boys.” First step was to learn to play the guitar. And so I did.
“A Horse With No Name” had only two basic chords and was the easiest one to learn. The next was “Ventura Highway” that could be acceptably played also with two chords. I later understood that it had actually more than four. When I soon became skilled to play the keyboards, I made sure that America songs were on my list. To familiarize myself with their music, I borrowed the LP ‘History’ (America’s Greatest Hits) from one of my friends. I started collecting their albums whenever and wherever I found them. I got hooked to America from then on.

By the time I got back to my senses, the van had entered the outskirts of Naga. I began to be uneasy. A couple of weeks earlier, word got around that the tickets were already sold out. Did I travel for more than an hour for nothing? Nevertheless, I stuck to my original plan and that was to hang-out outside the University of Nueva Caceres (UNC) Sports Palace and just listen in.
I met up with my friend Alex, who is also fan, at the San Francisco Church. Both of us had no tickets yet and he agreed to my plan just in case. When we arrived at the site, the large crowd I expected to see was not there and it was already 6:45 PM. To our delightful surprise, tickets were still being sold at the gate. We hurried inside and looked for the best seats our tickets could afford.
I only realized that my dream had come true when I saw Dewey Bunell, Gerry Beckley and the rest of their band begin playing. I just stood astounded all throughout the event. There they were, right in front of me, and in person: the band I have admired for more than thirty years. What made me bowl over was the song ‘Old Man Took.’ It is one of the most inspiring songs I have ever known. Although I prayed for it, I never expected them to play it that night.

When they made their bow, I began to slowly make my way out through the crowd who were asking for an encore. By the time I was outside the gates, Gerry Beckley came back with his acoustic version of ‘All My Life.’ As I walked alone towards UNC’s main gate, Dewey Bunell was singing ‘A Horse With No Name’ with the whole band. Like all their other songs, it is a part of the story of my life.

“On the first part of the journey
I was looking at all the life
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz
And the sky with no clouds
The heat was hot and the ground was dry
But the air was full of sound

I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain

After two days in the desert sun
My skin began to turn red
After three days in the desert fun
I was looking at a river bed
And the story it told of a river that flowed
Made me sad to think it was dead

You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name'
Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain

After nine days I let the horse run free'
Cause the desert had turned to sea
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
there was sand and hills and rings
The ocean is a desert with it's life underground
And a perfect disguise above
Under the cities lies a heart made of ground
But the humans will give no love

You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name'
Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain..."


The music of America is indeed the perfect combination of melody, lyrics and values. That night I became a more inspired musician and most importantly, an enhanced human being.