Req. Songs about Buses

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 25 Sep 12 - 06:40 AM

"Transport of Delight" by Flanders and Swann celebrates the London Transport Routemaster "diesel engined 97 horsepower omnibus".

RtS

Subject: Lyr Add: THE NUMBER 37
From: GUEST,Anne Renshaw
Date: 27 Sep 12 - 09:35 AM

I wrote a song called 'The Number 37' about the Edinburgh bus I use a lot. I recorded it on my debut album 'Awakening' and if you want to hear a wee clip go onto Coda's online shop. I believe Hamish Imlach also used to sing a song called 'The 37 bus' but that I think is a Glasgow bus. Here are the lyrics to my song about the Edinburgh one -

THE NUMBER 37   

CH The number 37 it is a braw, big bus
    It'll tak ye doon tae Princes Street withoot a lot o' fuss
    It has a bright, blue top on it so ye ken whaur it's come frae.
    It's come frae bonnie Penicuik by way o' Liberton Brae.

But dinnae try tae get it 'tween half past seven and nine,
It's choc fu' o' commuters and they like tae grump and whine.
Ye'll huvtae staun' and haud oan tight tae the nearest thing tae hand,
But mak' sure it's a pole ye grab or ye'll end up gettin' banned.
The windaes get a' steamy frae folks' infectious breath,
So dinnae breathe in deeply jist incase ye catch yer death.
The seats are sometimes dirty and covered ower wi' crumbs
And affen they're still really warm frae ither peoples' bums.

The bairn that kicks and kicks yer seat will start tae greet an' bawl
And drunks will stagger doon the stairs and then trip ower and fall.
There's aye a wife wi' shoppin' wha struggles tae her seat,
An' guaranteed she'll sit by you and drap it oan yer feet.
In summer come the tourists frae each Minto Street hotel.
They nivver hae the money right but think oor country's SWELL!
They want tae find the castle and tae climb up Arthur's Seat
But bus routes get them a' confused and maps aye have them beat.

It shoogles ower potholes and shudders tae a halt
And if it starts awa' real fast it's no the driver's fault.
He's tryin' tae beat the number 7 'cos it would never dae,
Tae let it get in front again and then get in his way.
It has its own timetable and comes quite frequently
But sometimes there are nane at a' an' sometimes there are three!
There's aye yin o' yon fancy signs that tell ye when it's due
But they dinnae tell ye where tae chinge an' get a 42!

Anne R

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Sep 12 - 07:20 PM

Nothing But Time by Jackson Browne & Howard Burke

From Running On Empty. Recorded "on a bus (a Continental Silver Eagle) somewhere in New Jersey" (9/8/77) while en route from Portland, Maine to their next gig in New Jersey. The bus's engine is audible in the background throughout, and its downshift and acceleration can be plainly heard during the bridge.

Rolling down 295 out of Portland, Maine
Still high from the people up there and feeling no pain
Gonna make it to New Jersey, gonna set it up and do it again
I got a bottle of wine (pass it over)
I got a broken white line (I'm still sober)
There ain't nothin but time between this Silver Eagle
And that New Jersey line

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 28 Sep 12 - 07:38 AM

Can't find it, but Ain't No Spittin' on the Green Line Bus.

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: GUEST,HughM
Date: 28 Sep 12 - 08:04 AM

On Mike Harding's L.P. "A Lancashire Lad" there's a song about a bus to Crumpsall Green.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE 37 BUS (McCarry/Docherty)
From: Kenny B (inactive)
Date: 28 Sep 12 - 09:38 AM

Hamish Imlachs version of the 37 Bus is in the DT my last link didnt work thro innatention
Words below to the tune (roughly) "Nicky Tams"

THE 37 BUS
(written by Ian McCarry and Tom Docherty)

Ah wiz sittin on the upper deck o' a 37 bus
Ah seen big Jimmie swillin wine an' stirrin up a fuss
The driver stopped the bus right sharp an' belted up the stair
"Yie can get the hell right aff this bus if ye gie us any mair"

"Pal, no offense" big Jimmie said: "if ye knew what I've been through
Ye widnae say such things tae me or blame a man that's fu'
Fur Ah lost ma pile on the dugs taenight, Ah'll huv yes fur tae know
Fur Ah put down all ma overtime pay on a dug that widnae go"

The driver said "Ah dinnae care nor gie a Tinker's curse
Yer swearin an yer bawlin is disturbin a' the bus
Ah've hud aboot enough of you, a lot more than Ah need
If ye dont haud that big tongue o' yours, Ah'll stuff it doon yer heid."

Big Jimmie looked up and he sighed and he finished aff his wine
He says "The way ye've spoke tae me has went right oot o' line
Ah've sorted out 15 like you tae get intae a fight
Get doon on yer knees and beg fur help, yah dirty little shite."

At this the bus began tae clear as people got off fast
Wi' good auld Glasgow chivalry the wimmen an children last
They gathered round and they shouted out fur they didnae like big Jim
"Come now driver sink the boot, get stuck right intae him."

The driver smiled and waded in kicking and swinging blows
Until he got Jim's big square heid aplanted on his nose
His knee came up, his fist went doon that wiz the battle o'er
So he jumped a couple o' times on his heid as he lay upon the floor

An' staightaway the polis came up tae capture Jim
In threes an' fours an' dozens, well he laid them oot round him
An' when wi' forty stoatin him he finally sensless sank
Ah counted fourteen polis hats washed away doon a stank

So if ye're ever sittin on a 37 bus
An see big Willie swillin wine and kickin up a fuss
Don't try tae act the hero an throw big Jimmie aff
Cos the poor old Glasgow polis, They huvnae got the staff.

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: oldhippie
Date: 29 Sep 12 - 08:58 AM

Atlanta Georgia Stray (Sonny Curtis) takes place on a Greyhound.

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: GUEST,Eric
Date: 04 May 13 - 08:50 AM

There's the Irish folk song The Connemara Bus

Subject: Lyr Add: A TRANSPORT OF DELIGHT (Flanders & Swann)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 05 May 13 - 12:30 PM

A TRANSPORT OF DELIGHT
As sung by Flanders & Swann on "At the Drop of a Hat" and several other albums.

Some people like a motorbike; some say: "A tram for me,"
Or for bonnie Army Lorry they'd lay them down and dee.
Such means of locomotion seem rather dull to us,
The driver and conductor of a London omnibus.

Hold very tight, please! Ting-ting!
Hold very tight, please! Ting-ting!

When you are lost in London and you don't know where you are,
You'll hear my voice a-calling: "Move further down the car!"
And very soon you'll find yourself inside the terminus
In a London Transport, diesel-engine,
Ninety-seven-horsepower omnibus.

Along the queen's great highway I drive my merry load
At twenty miles per hour in the middle of the road.
We like to drive in convoys; we're most gregarious,
The big six-wheeler, scarlet-painted,
London Transport, diesel-engine,
Ninety-seven-horsepower omnibus.

Earth has not anything to show more fair.
Mind the stairs! Mind the stairs! Mind the stairs!
Earth has not anything to show more fair.
Any more fares? Any more fares? Any more fares? Any more fares?

When cabbies try to pass me, before they overtakes,
I sticks me flippin' hand out and I jams on all me brakes.
Them jackal taxi drivers can only swear and cuss,
Behind that monarch of the road,
Observer of the highway code,
That big six-wheeler, scarlet-painted,
London Transport, diesel-engine,
Ninety-seven-horsepower omnibus.

I stops when I'm requested, although it spoils the ride,
So we can shout: "Get out of it! We're full right up inside."
We don't ask much for wages; we only want fair shares,
So cut down all the stages and stick up all the fares.
If tickets cost a pound apiece, why should you make a fuss?
It's worth it just to ride inside
A twenty-foot long by ten-foot wide,
Inside that monarch of the road,
Observer of the highway code,
That big six-wheeler, scarlet-painted,
London Transport, diesel-engine,
Ninety-seven-horsepower,
Ninety-seven-horsepower omnibus.
Hold very tight, please!

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: open mike
Date: 06 May 13 - 03:17 AM

hereis one about jesus on th egreyhound bus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lRUl31aruw

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: GUEST,Treacle Bolly
Date: 06 May 13 - 07:28 AM

The song "Green Line Bus" is by Bill Oddie and Tim Brooke-Taylor, from the "Cambridge Circus" revue, a predecessor of "I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again" and thus the whole Monty Python (ahem) Circus. It is on a 1963 LP called simply "Cambridge Circus" produced by a certain George Martin. The Parlophone label catalogue number places it just after the first two Beatles albums .

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: GUEST,Bert
Date: 06 May 13 - 09:34 AM

Then there's George Formby's Hold Tight and Keep Your Seats Please

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: RWJ
Date: 07 May 13 - 04:32 AM

There is one called Hollands meat pies. The pies where being delivered by bus, cant think who by but will post if it comes back to me.

Subject: Lyr Add: MEAN OLD GREYHOUND BUS (Willie Nelson)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 May 13 - 03:04 PM

MEAN OLD GREYHOUND BUS
As sung by Willie Nelson on "I Feel Sorry for Him" (2010)

1. Mean old Greyhound bus, look what you've done:
Took the one I love and away you've run,
But you don't have no feelin's, I can see,
Or, mean old Greyhound bus, you'd bring her back to me.

CHORUS: Mean old Greyhound bus, now don't you lie.
Didn't the city limits bring teardrops to her eyes?
With your big old wheels you pulled our love apart.
Mean old Greyhound bus, you're out to break my heart.

2. Mean old Greyhound bus, I'm surprised at you.
I've never done a single thing to you,
But after what you've done, I'm mad as I can be.
Mean old Greyhound bus, please bring her back to me. CHORUS

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: GUEST,george henderson
Date: 08 May 13 - 08:20 AM

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: GUEST,george henderson
Date: 08 May 13 - 08:24 AM

How about Blaydon races. Horse drawn bus tale from Newcastle upon Tyne written in 1862 by George Ridley.

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 09 May 13 - 08:24 AM

Those Hollands Meat Pies were coming to us
With my future bride on a 92 bus
In an hour or two I would whisper I do
With a gob full of Hollands Meat Pies

Les Barker

Hollands Meat Pies

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 09 May 13 - 08:38 AM

Chuck Berry - You can't catch me

New Jersey Turnpike in the wee wee hours
I was rolling slowly 'cause of drizzlin' showers
Here come old flattop he was movin' up with me
Then come wavin' goodbye in a little old souped-up jitney

Chuck Berry - You never can tell

They bought a souped-up jitney 'twas a cherry red '53,
They drove it down New Orleans to celebrate their anniversary
It was there that Pierre was married to the lovely mademoiselle
C'est la vie, say the old folks, It goes to show you never can tell

Subject: Lyr Add: MOTHER OF ME BAIRNS (Geordie Wilson)
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Nov 14 - 12:22 PM

The story mainly takes place on a yellow 39 bus on the short section running from near St James' Park in Gallowgate up to the General Hospital on the West Road.

Heres a link to the YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkklU1wyVMc

MOTHER OF ME BAIRNS by Geordie Wilson

The little 'un asked us, "How did you meet me mam, dad? Was it geet romantic?" She looked at us all starry-eyed and, well, you divn't want to disappoint a bairn do ye? So me immediate reaction was to make up a fairy tale aboot the whole occasion. But then I thowt, I divn't need tee. The truth's romanticker than fiction.

I mind the day that I met your mam
She never really nicked us oot your nana's pram
It was a Saturday, much like any other
Par for the course, 'til I met your mother
I'd been to the match and there'd been a little fuss
But we sorted the kerfuffle and I jumped ontiv a bus
I made oot I was kippin', I was tryin' to jip me fare
But me eyes were poppin' when your mam come up the stairs

I shoots, "Hoo hinnie! Howay sit next tiv iz
I knaa I look like the Wreck o' the Hesparus
That's a bonnie frock you're wearing, what's in your sarney?
Give us a bite pet, I've been in a barney"
She says, "Bunk along the bench a little bit then, hinnie
And divn't get y' clarty mits on me pinnie
Y' can have a little nibble but divn't take the lot
I divn't eat again 'til supper an' that stottie's all I've got"

I says, "Do ye gan all the way... to the terminus?"
She hoyed us a look as if I was vermin
Then she sees the blood on me leg and me shoe
I says, "It got cut when a bottle got threw"
She says, "Man, y' cannot walk aboot in claggy britches
The General's up next: you're gannin' for stitches"
I says, "Ha'd your horses" She says, "Button up your lip"
And then she giz another bite of her savaloy dip

She waited for us while the doctor sewed me leg
And by the time that it was done I could've murdered half a keg
I says, "The light's are comin' on, wor kid'll eat me tea
The Westfield must be open, would y' like a Cherry B?"
She says, "Hei man, we've only just met
Y' divn't even know me name, it's `Rose' not `Pet'"
I says, "My name's 'Harry, I just wanna be friends"
Who'd 've thought then, she'd be the mother of me bairns?

The mother of me bairns!

Subject: Lyr Add: A WHOLLY HOLEY PLACE
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 03 Nov 14 - 02:19 PM

I wrote a song in 2008 protesting (partly) about all the disruption the tram works caused in Edinburgh: but it also coincided with a period when all the roads seemed to be getting dug up for any reason - new gas pipes, water or sewage pipes, electricity and media cables etc. It reflects the volcanic origins of Edinburgh's skyline too. I did revise the song slightly when we finally got the long promised trams which don't serve the vast majority of people living in Edinburgh and cost an absolute fortune! So here is the revised version:

A WHOLLY HOLEY PLACE                    © TS 23.03.08. (revised 31.05.14.)

You'll have heard aboot Edinburgh's disgrace,
A sicht that the toon couldnae face,
Up on Calton Hill, how it made them feel ill,
But noo it's a weel-revered place.
Noo Edinburgh's a' fu' o' holes,
Being dug by an army of moles,
They cam frae doon under tae tear us asunder
Tae meet wi' oor Government goals.
Chorus
They're digging up Edinburgh toon,
They're digging a lang lang way doon,
One day they'll hit lava,We'll be all blown tae Java,
And I think it might come fairly soon.

They say that we're needing some trams
Some say MSPs are all bams
Noo jist hear oor wails, they must be aff the rails
As I only see huge traffic jams.
If it's no trams, it's pipes or it's cable,
They're digging wherever they're able,
Not another diversion, it smacks of coercion
And that flood means they've hit water table.
                                        Chorus        
There're more red lights than a bordello,
Oh why do they never turn yellow
Or even tae green, that sae rarely is seen
Oh this really is motoring hell-O.
From the stuff oot the holes they make humps,
They've the brass neck tae cry them speed bumps,
It is their intention to wreck my suspension,
The exhaust pipe has dropped off in lumps.
                                        Chorus
And I can't find a stop for my bus,                        
Now why should I make such a fuss?                        
They havenae just moved it, they've totally removed it                
No wonder I'm starting to cuss.                                
So when is it all going tae end?                        
It's driving me near roond the bend,                
You'll detect my distaste for this latest disgrace,
It's a state that I cannae defend.
                                        Chorus
So six years on, see where we are,
Don't think aboot bringing your car,
Or you'll stop for a while ….and a while…..and a while……………….
And I bet you won't smile
As you wait for that tram from afar.
And as they glide silently by
Half-empty, I'm starting to cry
For the money and pain spent for so little gain,
And I ask just one question, it's "Why?"

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 04 Nov 14 - 09:06 AM

re
Anne Neilson - : 23 Sep 12 -
that'd be Adam McNaughtan - The Transportation Ballad.

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: Ed T
Date: 04 Nov 14 - 09:11 PM

Any mention Harry Chapin's Greyhound song?



Greyhound 

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 05 Nov 14 - 05:29 AM

my song about the big red trams who used be seen on the streets of Nottingham.

https://soundcloud.com/denise_whittle/sam-the-tram

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: GUEST,CJB
Date: 05 Nov 14 - 01:18 PM

Toorak Tram by Bernard Bolan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YuIkhEn1lQ

Rose Bay Ferry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm6FLf_0rI0

Discgraphy

http://folkaustralia.com/BernardBolan/discography.html

Hilarious!!

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 09 Jun 18 - 04:47 PM

THE WRONG BUS
(J. Lowe / Lowe Life Music)

I jumped on a London omnibus to take me into work,
I went up to the top deck for a smoke,
I lit me fag and noticed we were going the wrong way,
Is this driver drunk or playing us a joke?
Now I’m the sort of feller who enjoys a friendly jape,
But I wasn’t in the mood for such malarkey,
When I looked around to see if anyone else had noticed too,
I saw all the passengers were dressed in khaki!

CHORUS
I’m on the wrong bus,, the wrong bus,
Fate has played a cruel twist on me,
I’m on the wrong bus, the wrong bus,
I wanted Piccadilly, now I’m off to Picardie,
I’m on the wrong bus, the wrong bus,
Oh when will that conductor’s bell go jingle?
I wish I’d had the money for to buy a day return,
But the ticket in me hand is just a single!

I tried to get to sleep last night as I lay in the mud,
In a crater somewhere deep in No man’s Land,
When suddenly a Jerry soldier fell into me hole,
With a grimace and a rifle in his hand!
He shrugged his muddy shoulders and he sat down by my side,
With a friendly smile that banished fright and fear,
I offered him some bully beef, he offered me a smoke,
I said, “Cor blimey, Fritzy, what are you doing here?”

CHORUS
He said, “I took the wrong bus, the wrong bus,”
And he told me such a familiar tale,
He said “ I took the wrong bus, the wrong bus,
I wanted Passenhausen, now I’m here in Paschendale,
I took the wrong bus, the wrong bus,
And why I’m here at all I’m none the wiser,
You’re up the Swanee, and I’m up the Rhine,
And we both want to stick it up the Kaiser!”

From the 2014 CD The Ballad Beyond

http://www.jezlowe.com/lyrics/the-wrong-bus/ 


Jez Low https://youtu.be/89xJcxOj14Y 

Bob Fox https://youtu.be/SUkoLz3DMXk 

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 09 Jun 18 - 05:36 PM

What a clever song! Jez Lowe sings slightly different words.

Subject: RE: Req. Songs about Buses
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 09 Jun 18 - 10:11 PM

Trailways Bus
(Sir Derek Walcott, Paul Simon, 1997)

A passenger traveling quietly conceals himself
With a magazine and a sleepless pillow
Over the crest of the mountain the moon begins its climb
And he wakes to find he's in rolling farm land
The farmer sleeps against his wife
He wonders what their life must be
A Trailways bus is heading south into Washington, D.C.

A mother and child, the baby maybe two months old
Prepare themselves for sleep and feeding
The shadow of the Capitol dome slides across his face
And his heart is racing with the urge to freedom
The father motionless as stone
A shepherd resting with his flock
The Trailways bus is turning west
Dallas via Little Rock

Oh my darling darling Sal
The desert moon is my witness
I've no money to come east
But I know you'll soon be here

We pull into downtown Dallas by the sight of the grassy knoll
Where the leader fell and a town was broken
Away from the feel and flow of life for so many years
He hears music playing and Spanish spoken

The border patrol outside of Tucson boarded the bus
Any aliens here
You better check with us
How about you son you look like you've got Spanish blood
Do you habla Inglese
Am I understood

Yes I am an alien from Mars
I come to Earth from outer space
And if I traveled my whole life
You guys would still be on my case
You guys would still be on my case

But he can't leave his fears behind
He recalls each fatal thrust
The screams carried by the wind
Phantom figures in the dust
Phantom figures in the dust
Phantom figures in the dust


YT: Trailways Bus
(w/Sara Ramirez, original cast)

LP Wiki: Songs from the Capeman

Play Wiki: The Capeman