John's Big Rig

Lyrics

[Verse 1] John came striding through the diner door Said, “My new rig’s gonna shake this floor” A Western Star Gapvax, polished bright He’d talked that truck up every Friday night He drew the plans on a napkin in blue Said it’d haul the whole county clean through The boys just grinned at his big parade While John named every hill it’d take [Chorus] Hey, John, that big rig’s running rough All that bragging didn’t make it tough Turn the key and the whole thing groans Then the blower blew and the silence rolled Hey, John, let the hard truth ring A shiny new truck ain’t a sure thing [Verse 2] The delivery man rolled it down the lane John waved like a king in a summer rain He climbed aboard with a confident grin Turned that key and the cough set in It lurched three feet, then it rattled and wheezed A warning light blinked like it aimed to tease John stomped the pedal, gave it one more try A sharp pop cracked through the morning sky [Chorus] Hey, John, that big rig’s running rough All that bragging didn’t make it tough Turn the key and the whole thing groans Then the blower blew and the silence rolled Hey, John, let the hard truth ring A shiny new truck ain’t a sure thing [Breakdown] One pop—then smoke from under the hood John said, “That can’t be bad—this thing’s built good” The blower gave up with a clatter and a bang And the whole lot heard that final clang [Guitar Solo] [Bridge] Now the shop has his truck on blocks John’s got grease on his Sunday socks He still tells the story, just leaves out the boast And buys the next round for the whole darn post [Final Chorus] Hey, John, that big rig’s running rough All that bragging didn’t make it tough Turn the key and the whole thing groans Then the blower blew and the silence rolled Hey, John, let the hard truth ring A shiny new truck ain’t a sure thing Hey, John, when the boys all sing “Next time, let the truck do the bragging!”