Hot Rod Race No.4 (aka The Guy In The Mercury)
Composer(s): George Wilson
Performer(s): Arkie Shibley



You've heard'a the guy an' his brother Joe
who took off in their Ford from San Pedro
an' how they raced through deserts wide
with a Mercury that stayed right by their side

Now I'm the guy who was in that Merc
an' I'm callin' myself all kind of a jerk
for ever tryin' that kind've a race
I might have known I'd lose my face

But the road was straight 'n' the road was wide
'n' me 'n' that Ford stayed side by side
I stuck to him through thick an' thin
but I knew all the time I's riskin' my skin

When the hopped-up Model-A blew a'past
I wondered then how long it would last
but I didn't have too long to wait
to see what would happen, to learn my fate

The cop's heads, who spun in fright
got on their bikes an' took to flight
They came up behind me with a siren blast
I knew right then my fun had passed

The guy in the Ford kept racin' on
he was tryin' to catch that son-of-a-gun
who was drivin' that hot rod Model-A
but I didn't have a thing to say

Now I'm sittin' here alone in the klink
with plenty of time to wonder and think
I pace the floor, I frume an' fret
I don't even have a cigarette

Oh, why did I ever get in that race
to end up here in this awful place?
Should have had more sense, is all I can say
don't ever race with a kid in a hopped-up Model-A