Lyr Req: Wolf Creek Pass (from C. W. McCall)

Subject: Lyr Req: Ended up in downtown Pagosa Springs
From: GUEST,Derwyn
Date: 16 Sep 03 - 08:43 PM

Anyone remember this one....its a song about two guys and a load of chickens and they go under an underpass and lose the chickens and end up in downtown pagosa springs.

Thanks for this

Der1

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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ended up in downtown Pagosa Springs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Sep 03 - 08:56 PM

Don't know about the song, but this television camera purports to show what's happening in Downtown Pagosa Springs, Colorado.

Yes, I know that the camera was out of order when I posted this link, but I'm hoping...

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ended up in downtown Pagosa Springs
From: freightdawg
Date: 16 Sep 03 - 09:07 PM

The song is "Wolf Creek Pass" and sung by C. W. McCall. He has several other songs about trucking and off of the wall places. He was also famous for "Convoy."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ended up in downtown Pagosa Springs
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 17 Sep 03 - 06:07 AM

I've been in "downtown" Pagosa Springs. It could be much worse! I found the place charming.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ended up in downtown Pagosa Springs
From: Louie Roy
Date: 17 Sep 03 - 11:07 AM

I lived in Pagosa Springs for a year and I was there when a truck driver with a full load of cattle missed a gear and lost his brakes on the steep hill coming into town from the west and crashed through the rock wall on the 90 degree turn on the east end of town and jumped some 100 feet across the creek and of course all the cattle were killed or had to be destroyed.Luckely no one was killed including the truck driver who bailed out before the crash when the truck had reached a speed of 80 miles an hour.If no one else post the words to Wolf Creek Pass I will do so later today Louie Roy

Subject: Lyr Add: Wolf Creek Pass
From: Sorcha
Date: 17 Sep 03 - 12:39 PM

I can't believe this isn't at Cowpie! Didn't find any chords but here are the lyrics: (Bill Fries was Mcall's real name)

Wolf Creek Pass
(Bill Fries, Chip Davis)
Me an' Earl was haulin' chickens on a flatbed out of Wiggins, and we'd spent all night on the uphill side of thirty-seven miles of hell called Wolf Creek Pass. Which is up on the Great Divide?

We was settin' there suckin' toothpicks, drinkin' Nehi and onion soup mix, and I said, "Earl, let's mail a card to Mother then send them chickens on down the other side. Yeah, let's give 'em a ride."

[Chorus]
Wolf Creek Pass, way up on the Great Divide
Truckin' on down the other side

Well, Earl put down his bottle, mashed his foot down on the throttle, and then a couple'a boobs with a thousand cubes in a nineteen-forty-eight Peterbilt screamed to life. We woke up the chickens.

Well, we roared up offa that shoulder sprayin' pine cones, rocks, and boulders, and put four hundred head of them Rhode Island reds and a couple a' burnt-out roosters on the line. Look out below; 'cause here we go!

Well, we commenced to truckin' and them hens commenced to cluckin' and then Earl took out a match and scratched his pants and lit up the unused half of a dollar cigar and took a puff. Says "My, ain't this purdy up here."

I says, "Earl, this hill can spill us. You better slow down or you gonna kill us. Just make one mistake and it's the Pearly Gates for them eight-five crates a' USDA-approved cluckers. You wanna hit second?"

[Chorus]
Wolf Creek Pass, way up on the Great Divide
Truckin' on down the other side

Well, Earl grabbed on the shifter and he stabbed her into fifth gear and then the chromium-plated, fully-illuminated genuine accessory shift knob come right off in his hand. I says, "You wanna screw that thing back on, Earl?"

He was tryin' to thread it on there when the fire fell off a' his cigar and dropped on down, sorta rolled around, and then lit in the cuff of Earl's pants and burned a hole in his sock. Yeah, sorta set him right on fire.

I looked on outta the window and I started countin' phone poles, goin' by at the rate of four to the seventh power. Well I put two and two together, and added twelve and carried five; come up with twenty-two thousand telephone poles an hour.

I looked at Earl and his eyes was wide, his lip was curled, and his leg was fried. And his hand was froze to the wheel like a tongue to a sled in the middle of a blizzard. I says, "Earl, I'm not the type to complain; but the time has come for me to explain that if you don't apply some brake real soon, they're gonna have to pick us up with a stick and a spoon."

Well, Earl rared back, and cocked his leg, stepped as down as hard as he could on the brake, and the pedal went clear to the floor and stayed there, right there on the floor. He said it was sorta like steppin' on a plum.

Well, from there on down it just wasn't real purdy: it was hairpin county and switchback city. One of 'em looked like a can full'a worms; another one looked like malaria germs. Right in the middle of the whole damn show was a real nice tunnel, now wouldn't you know?

Sign says clearance to the twelve-foot line, but the chickens was stacked to thirteen-nine. Well we shot that tunnel at a hundred-and-ten, like gas through a funnel and eggs through a hen, and we took that top row of chickens off slicker than scum off a Lousiana swamp. Went down and around and around and down 'til we run outta ground at the edge of town. Bashed into the side of the feed store... in downtown Pagosa Springs.

[Chorus]
Wolf Creek Pass, way up on the Great Divide
Truckin' on down the other side
Wolf Creek Pass, way up on the Great Divide
Truckin' on down the other side

Subject: Lyr Add: WOLF CREEK PASS (from C. W. McCall)
From: Louie Roy
Date: 17 Sep 03 - 01:28 PM

WOLF CREEK PASS

Me and Earl were hauling chickens on a flatbed out of Wiggins, and we'd spent all night on the uphill side of 37 miles of hell called Wolf Creek Pass, which is up on the Great Divide.

We were setting there sucking toothpicks, drinking Nehi and onion soup mix, and I said, “Earl, let's mail a card to mother then send them chickens on down the other side. Yeah, let’s give them a ride.”

CHORUS: Wolf Creek Pass, way up on the Great Divide, Trucking on down the other side.

Well, Earl put down his bottle, mashed his foot down on the throttle, and then a couple of boobs with a thousand cubes in a 1948 Peterbilt screamed to life. We woke up the chickens.

Well, we roared off of that shoulder spraying pine cones, rocks and boulders, and put 400 head of them Rhode Island Reds and a couple of burnt-out roosters on the line. Look out below 'cause here we go.

Well, we commenced to trucking and those hens commenced to clucking, and then Earl took out a match and scratched his pants and lit up the unused half of a dollar cigar and took a puff. Says, “My, ain't this purty up here!”

I says, "Earl, this hill can spill us. You'd better slow down or you're going to kill us. Just make one mistake and it's the pearly gates for those 85 crates of USDA approved cluckers. You want to hit second." CHORUS

Well, Earl grabbed onto the shifter and stabbed her into 5th gear and then the chromium-plated, fully-illuminated genuine accessory shift knob comes right off in his hand. I says, "You want to screw that thing back on, Earl."

He was trying to thread it back on when the fire fell off of his cigar and dropped on down, sorta rolled around, and lit in the cuff of Earl’s pants and burned a hole in his sock. Yeah, sorta set him on fire.

I looked out the window and I started counting phone poles going by at the rate of four to the seventh power. Well, I put two and two together, and added twelve and carried five, come up with twenty-two thousand telephone poles an hour.

I looked at Earl and his eyes were wide, his lips were curled, and his leg was fried, and his hand was froze to the wheel like a tongue to a sled in the middle of a blizzard. I says, "Earl, I'm not the type to complain, but the time has come for me to explain that if you don't apply some brakes real soon, they're going to have to pick us up with a spoon."

Well, Earl rared back, cocked his leg, stepped down as hard as he could on the brake, and the pedal went clear to the floor and stayed there, right there on the floor. He said it was like stepping on a plum.

Well, from there on down it just wasn't real purty. It was Hairpin County and Switchback City one of them looked like a can full of worms. Another one looked like malaria germs. Right in the middle of the whole damn show was a real nice tunnel, now wouldn't you know.

Sign says, “Clearance to the twelve-foot line,” but the chickens were stacked to thirteen-nine. Well, we shot that tunnel at one hundred and ten like gas through a funnel and eggs through a hen, and we took the top row of chickens off slicker than scum off a Louisiana swamp, went down and around and around and down till we run out of ground at the edge of town. Bashed into the side of the feed store in down town Pogosa Springs. CHORUS

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ended up in downtown Pagosa Springs
From: GUEST,Derwyn
Date: 17 Sep 03 - 03:20 PM

Thank you folks very much for your usual quick response....I had a bet (cuppa java) with a fella on how long it would take before I recieved the first correct answer. I guessed between 15 - 25 min and his was considerably longer if at all....good guess....ance again thank you for this

Derwyn

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ended up in downtown Pagosa Springs
From: Gene
Date: 17 Sep 03 - 03:40 PM

entering

[wolf creek pass lyrics]

in the browser would have found it in a matter of seconds..

http://www.narrowgauge.org/4x4/cw_pages/lyrics/spirit/wcp.html

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ended up in downtown Pagosa Springs
From: freightdawg
Date: 17 Sep 03 - 10:10 PM

Just a note for those who care about such things or for those who want to stump a friend on music trivia. McCall has the tunnel on the west side of Wolf Creek Pass (between the summit and Pagosa Springs). There is no tunnel on that side, but there is an avalanche snow tunnel on the east side (between the summit and South Fork). Of course the song is hilarious regardless of where the tunnel is, but it sure would be nice if some engineers in Colorado would build a tunnel between the summit of Wolf Creek Pass and Pagosa Springs so the song would be geographically correct. After hearing this song no one can drive over Wolf Creek Pass without thinking about that truck full of chickens screaming by at the rate of 22,000 telephone poles per hour.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wolf Creek Pass (from C. W. McCall)
From: GUEST,Chris
Date: 18 Aug 10 - 01:29 PM

While we're thinking wishfully, why don't we have some mathematical engineers modify the fundamentals of addition so that the following lyric is correct:

"I looked on outta the window and I started countin' phone poles, goin' by at the rate of four to the seventh power. Well I put two and two together, and added twelve and carried five; come up with twenty-two thousand telephone poles an hour."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wolf Creek Pass (from C. W. McCall)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 18 Aug 10 - 03:35 PM

That's what those run-away truck ramps are for on down-hill sections of mountain road in the Rocky Mountain states.
But it's more fun letting her rip like Earl did.

Wolf Creek Pass is at more than 10,800 feet where it crosses the Great Divide. They have made hwy 160 into a 4-lane, taking the fun out of the old 2-lane road, but grades are only moderate so it's an easy road in summer weather.