Way Downtown (Again)

It's funny how songs come in and out of our lives. Even before The Flood was formed 40 years ago, Dave Peyton and Charlie Bowen would get together on weekends to pick and sing, just the two of them, and among the tunes they would play was this one, "Way Downtown," which they probably learned from an old Doc Watson recording. After the band came together in the mid-'70s -- as Rog Samples, Joe Dobbs, Bill Hoke and Stewart Schneider joined us -- "Way Downtown" was a regular. Then the song just seemed to drift away for a couple of decades. But lately, it's come back, and the latest incarnation of The Flood likes how it fits, like a comfortable old shoe. So much so, in fact, that the song's likely to be on the set list for shows on our schedule this fall. Here's a take on the tune from last night's rehearsal.