Introduction
The Pilgrim: Chapter 33 is a song by the country supergroup The Highwaymen, featuring Johnny Cash as the lead vocalist. It was released on their 1990 album Highwayman 2. The song is a continuation of the narrative begun in their 1985 hit The Highwayman, and it picks up the story of the four protagonists decades later.
In The Highwayman, the four singers each tell a story of a different historical figure: a nineteenth-century stagecoach robber, a Confederate soldier, a Mexican revolutionary, and a modern-day drifter. The Pilgrim: Chapter 33 finds these characters facing the twilight of their lives, reflecting on their past experiences and grappling with their mortality. Cash’s character, the drifter, recounts his journey through life, his encounters with love and loss, and his ongoing search for meaning and redemption. The song is a poignant and introspective reflection on the passage of time, the weight of the past, and the enduring human desire for connection and purpose.