18 Wheels

So I was at the Calgary Folk Festival last weekend and saw Steve Earle close out the night.  I thought his set was great (although I would have preferred to see him solo).  I got thinking about how he compares to Fred and had these thoughts on how to compare the two on this blog but the idea came out clunky and I scrapped it.  In the end, I love Steve Earle's music and his attitude as an artist, but Fred Eaglesmith is the best song writer in the whole world and I'll stand on Steve Earle's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.

With a tip of the hat to one of my favourite Steve Earle songs (his version of Willin'), here's a trucking song that I always find myself singing to myself when it's raining or snowing.

18 Wheels

Driving rain, 40 miles out of Michigan,
Spiderweb headlights, shut me down.
I knocked on the door, I rang the bell,
The sign said Vacancy, there was no one around.

(Chorus)

18 wheels up against the wall,
56 tonnes, grain alcohol.
Danger pay, I'm trying to be strong,
But my will is gone, my will is gone, my will is gone.

Lightning crashing, standing in a phone booth,
I called her number, I got a machine.
I heard her voice, I heard the tone,
I tried to speak, I couldn't say anything.

(Chorus)

Blinding snow, Sioux City Iowa,
It dawned on me, she was gone to stay.
I jammed the brakes, I swung it around,
Now I'm heading back, but it's way too late.

(Chorus)

Chords

I've seen people play this a few different ways.  You can play the verses with just G with a D thrown in at the end of each sentence.  You can also throw a quick C in before the G if you want to get fancy.  The chorus seems to be Am, C, G, D.