"The Long Way Around" (a.k.a. "Taking the Long Way Around") is a song written by Natalie Maines-Pasdar, Martie Maguire, Emily Robison, and Dan Wilson and recorded by the American all-female trio Dixie Chicks for their seventh studio album, Taking the Long Way (2006). The song was released as the third physical single from the album in late 2006.

The song is the opening track of Taking the Long Way and provides the album its title, which derives from the chorus. The song, just like "Not Ready to Make Nice", also refers to the controversy Natalie Maines caused when she said that the band is ashamed that the United States President George W. Bush is from their home-state of Texas. The line "Well I fought with a stranger and I met myself" is a reference to the public feud Maines had with Bush. Many people think that the line speaks of Toby Keith, but the writing of that line was discussed in "Shut Up & Sing." Also the line, "It's been two long years now, since the top of the world came crashing down." refers to their public problems with the concert where their notorious statement was made during their "Top of the World Tour."

This is what band members Emily and Natalie commented about the writing process of the song:

The Long Way Around received unanimous critical acclaim. On December 8, "The Long Way Around" was elected the 20th best song of 2006 by the Rolling Stone magazine. It was declared in the magazine that it is "a heart-tugging guitar anthem for small-town girls with big dreams -- and the best ersatz Springsteen song in a year that was packed with them."

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