The White Knight

(album: In Overdrive - 2009)

Down 75 or 85
Or I-20 t'other way
Turn your squelch to the right
And in the night
You'll hear some good buddy say
"Breaker breaker
Got a picture taker
All Smokeys at forty three"

It's that Japanese toy
The trucker's joy
That everybody calls CB
Yeah, Citizen's Band, keeps you up to date
On fender benders and Tijuana taxis
And all them bears out there, flip flop

Now ahead of your children and ahead of your wife
On the list of the ten best things in life
Your CB's gotta rate right around number four
'Course beavers and hot biscuits and Merle Haggard
Come one, two, three, you know

Well I was loaded down, coming outta Lake City
I was checking out seat covers, young and pretty
When all of a sudden there come a call
Over my CB, ringing wall to wall
Said clove her double nickels till you hit the ridge
'Cause there's a Smokey picture taker t'other side of the bridge

"Oh mercy, 'ppreciate that, good buddy
What's your handle there, come on?
You got any county mounties out there prowling, come on?"
And he said...

"Ten four... back door
Put the peddle to the metal and... let it roar
Hammer down... to Macon town...
Gonna see my momma... sure
Well, the bears are gone
Let's... bring it on...
The Georgia line's... out of sight
Pulled outta Richmond town last Saturday night
And my handle is... the White Knight
How 'bout it?"

"All right, White Knight, hammer down,
You got the mean machine here"
I was a streaking
My needle was a peaking
A right around seventy nine
That old diesel juice
Was a getting loose
And everything was fine
But wall to wall
I got a call
Front door, big bear trapper
Said, "Break one nine
Good buddy of mine
You got a Smokey in a plain white wrapper"

Well I jammed my stick
I lost twenty quick
You could hear them gears a tearing
I got passed by a beaver
And a Camaro
I was cruising alone
And going so slow
I could count every button on that frilly blouse she was wearing

'Course there weren't but one

"Hey there, super trooper!
Yeah, that's the crafty Smokey over there with a CB of his own
Hey White Knight, let's slide one on the super trooper, come on?"

"Ten four, back door
Put the peddle to the metal, whatcha... waiting for?
That old flop
Can't stay in sight
Gonna leave you here and say no more
How 'bout it?"

"Whoa, now, buddy, that's fighting talk
I'd get up there and blow your doors off!"

Well I hammered down like I had wings
Little gravels in my wheels going ping, ping, ping
'Bout the time I hit ninety-two
Saw something flashing' in my rear view
Thought to myself that can't be true
But there it was, old blue, blue, blue

Uh oh. Bubble gum machine done hit the jackpot

Well I could see that bear, laughing big
Hanging in tight on the back of my rig
Right there and then it came to be wall to wall

So in that cold dark Georgia night
In the shadows of Smokey bear's blue light
I 'cided to make me just one more CB call

"Breaker one nine for the super trooper
Hey there, Smokey old buddy, tell me if I'm right
Are you my front door? Are you the White Knight? Come on?"
And he said...

"Ten four, back door
You're in a heap of trouble boy... that's for sure
Gonna read you your rights, and treat you fair
Pull over there
With your... rocking chair
Want you boys to know each other real well
'Cause you gonna be sharing the same jail cell
You make twelve cotton pickers I've caught tonight
From the front door of that White Knight
How 'bout it?
Forty miles over the speed limit
You boys gonna be here a spell"

That's it, cotton pickers, I've done been grounded
My tail's in jail, my rig impounded
So when you're coming through the Georgia night
Don't ever get no front door called the White Knight

No sir. Wind up in the pokey with Smokey
I'm gonna pull that old CB thing out by the wires
I don't care if it is...