Hurray for the Riff Raff, the rail-riding teen poet who lived to sing the tale

Singer/songwriter Alynda Segarra is perhaps uniquely qualified to make music under the banner "Americana." Segarra records as Hurray for the Riff Raff, and they spent time as a teenager hitchhiking and riding the rails across the United States, sometimes evading police. In the song "Snake Plant (The Past Is Still Alive)," they describe camping on a toxic cleanup site, and also singing for fellow vagrants:

I play my song for the barrel of freaks
And we go shoplifting when it's time to eat
They don't even really know my name
I'm so happy that we escaped from where we came

Segarra's journey began in the Bronx, where trouble at home left them to be raised by an aunt and uncle. "I found it to be a really great place to grow up," Segarra tells Morning Edition. "Of course, at the time, I felt really bored and I was itching to get out of there. I wanted to go to the Lower East Side where, you know, all the weirdos were. I always felt like there was a world out there for me."

Hurray for the Riff Raff's latest album, , reflects on the years of wandering that followed once the artist set out on their own. Segarra spoke with host Steve Inskeep about writing some of the most personal songs of their career, and why it's so important to them to document relationships with friends and mentors, no matter