Wolf Creek Pass
Mannheim Steamroller Lyrics

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?
The singer and Earl were transporting chickens on a flatbed truck and had been driving all night on the uphill road of the dreaded Wolf Creek Pass, which is located 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."
The singer and Earl were sitting and relaxing with toothpicks in their mouths, drinking Nehi and onion soup mix, and the singer suggested sending a postcard to their mother and letting the chickens roll down the other side of the pass.

[Chorus] Wolf Creek Pass, way up on the Great Divide Truckin' on down the other side
The chorus outlines their journey through Wolf Creek Pass, driving up on the Great Divide, and trucking 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.
Earl put down his bottle, stepped on the gas pedal, and the powerful nineteen-forty-eight Peterbilt truck roared to life, waking 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!
The truck took off from its stopped position and sprayed pine cones, rocks, and boulders with its movement. Four hundred Rhode Island red chickens, along with a few burnt-out roosters, were put on the line for the wild ride down the pass.

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."
As they continued to ride through the pass, the chickens started clucking, and Earl lit up a cigar, remarking how beautiful the view is.

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?"
The singer warns Earl that the hill could cause them to crash and die, and suggests he slows down to prevent that. The singer also asks if they should switch to a lower gear.

[Chorus] Wolf Creek Pass, way up on the Great Divide Truckin' on down the other side
The chorus outlines their journey through Wolf Creek Pass, driving up on the Great Divide, and trucking 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?"
Earl shifted to fifth gear, but the shift knob came off in his hand. The artist suggests Earl screws it back on.

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.
As Earl tries to put the shift knob back, the fire from his cigar fell and burned his sock, setting him 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.
The singer looks out the window and starts counting phone poles, realizing they're going by at a very fast rate. They calculated that they're going at 22,000 poles per 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."
The artist observes that Earl looks frightened with wide eyes and a curled lip, and his leg is burnt. Earl's hand is tightly gripped to the steering wheel, and the artist warns Earl that they need to use the brake soon, or they'll crash and will have to be picked up with very few tools.

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.
Earl finally applies the brake, but the pedal goes all the way to the floor and stays pinned there. Earl compares the feeling to stepping 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?
The ride down the pass becomes more dangerous with many hairpin turns and switchbacks. One of the turns even looked like a can of worms, while another one resembled malaria germs. However, in the middle of those dangerous areas, they encounter a nice tunnel.

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.
The sign warned that the clearance for the tunnel was twelve-foot, but the truck was stacked with chickens to thirteen-nine. They speed through the tunnel, going at a hundred-and-ten mph so fast that they removed the top row of chickens. They continue to drive downhill until they crash into the side of a 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
The chorus outlines their journey through Wolf Creek Pass, driving up on the Great Divide, and trucking down the other side.