The Road is McCalling

Work has slated a new round of travels for me. We have updated our GPS equipment, so now, duty calls once again for me to make the rounds to the far reaches of the Lone Star State to train the local crews on how to use the new hardware and software. When I heard that this was in the works I was excited, because I enjoy getting out of the office and seeing new places and rubbing elbows with my colleagues in the regional offices (especially when it's on the company's dime). So, I actually often save money when I travel like this.

So to kick off this travelling show, I'm including a trio of trucking songs from C.W. McCall, a storytelling musician from the 70's. My dad introduced us kids to these songs, and I always found them entertaining.

1st Up: "CJ5 and a 4 Wheel Drive"
Probably my favorite number of his as a child. It's got everything: fast cars, a furious chase, "mud & crud", and ample banjo.




I just love these lyrics:
"We gonna swim this here crick now smokey...
Yard wide an' a foot deep...
Nishnabotna river they call it..."


"Might have to winch ya out... "


"don't hit that fella with the banjo"


"I dropped on down to granny low..." lol

and you know it takes a talented lyricist to throw auto mechanic terms into his songs...
"Got a mill with a four pot carb, ya know,
But smokey's stroked and bored..."
Awesome, simply awesome.

"Classified"
("the dog's name is 'Frank'...")
This is now probably my favorite of his. It's entertaining and fast moving. Anyone who has owned a "fixer upper" vehicle can relate to this.



"He says 'her shaft is bent and the rear end leaks
You can fix 'er quick with an oily rag
Use a nail to start her, I lost the key
Don't pay no mind to that whirin' sound
She'll use a little oil,
...but outside of that she's cherry" 
Used car salesmen. What can ya do?

"well Frank jumped in and bit my leg, and I beat him off with a crowbar..." classic


"Wolf Creek Pass"
At the time of this posting there wasn't a perfect video of this stretch of road made even more famous by by C.W. McCall. I do love the dashboard cam in this video though, giving the viewer a glimpse of the downhill drive toward Pagosa Springs, CO. The problem is, you can't make the entire run of Wolf Creek Pass from its summit down into Pagosa Springs in the 4 minutes it takes to play the song. So this video plays the song twice - two different recordings though, but it's still not enough time.

One day maybe someone will post a video where they speed up the trip to fit to the length of the song, which I believe would help add to the out of control downhill speed the song describes. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy it anyway. If you have time, go to YouTube and check out the other versions.



I dunno if lyrics get any better than:
"well, we shot that tunnel at a hundred an' ten,
like gas through a funnel and eggs through a hen..."
I think Eminem on his best day would be jealous.

...

So now, let the travels begin. I'll probably post some pics from some of the different areas. Just a warning.