The Long Grey Line

“The Long Grey Line” or “The Highway was written in

1959 and was inspired by a fatal car accident.

I was upset because nobody at the Elks Club seemed unduly concerned.

They went right on telling their jokes and laughing as though

Nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

The Long Grey Line

(The Highway)

It’s a long grey line

With a code that’s stern

And a law that favors none

Where the payoff’s short, of the permanent sort

For the insubordinate one.

You’re a gambler born

When you honk that horn

To pass, when the law says wait

Then a headlight gleams

And a mortal screams

And you’ve sold out to fate.

Well, you knew the odds

When you took the chance

And you staked your life on the line

But you bid too much

And the rules are such

That you can’t turn back this time.

Now the story’s told

And the tale is old

You’re lost and you can’t complain

So you yield your breath

To the winner – Death

He holds all trump again.

Now that’s bad enough

But the part that’s rough

Is seeing the gang react

To the awful news that you’ve paid your dues

And you won’t be coming back.

They’re standing around

Just swapping yarns

And spending their hard earned pay

When in walks Joe

And he says real low

“John Jones cashed in today”

Well, they’re properly blue

For a minute or two

As they look real thoughtful and grim

Then they turn to the bloke

Who was tilling the joke

Hey! What was that punch line, Jim?

“Bonnie White Bleak”

1959