Ballad of the Blue Bronco | Martha De Long

The Blue Bronco had quite a long trip to make
From Houston to Elko out West.
Full to the gunnels with kit for the field
The Blue Bronco still wasn’t the best.

Hey boss, these tires will not make the trip.
Can you buy me a couple or two?
Just to ensure I get to the end.
These old ones just won’t see me through.

Check the air, watch your speed, no worries, my dear.
There’s life left in these finest of tires.
Keep in touch, couple thousand miles, not really that much.
(…you cotton-pickin’ liar!)

‘A bientot, au revoir, keep in touch, new recruit’,
And he waved me fondly good-bye.
Filled up the big tank, checked the lights on the ute.
‘Heaven help me,’ was all I could sigh.

Kept my eyes on the road of the I-45,
Heading north to country unknown.
Turned west as the sun was sliding to rest,
Still fearing I’d been thrown a big bone.

The radio man, raised his voice to blurt out:
‘Big front, coming through, anytime’!
Just as I noticed a sway in the rear
And the tires beginning to whine.

Pull over, pull over was all I could do
As the wind and rain pelted down.
Temps dropped, by the dozens, in such a short time.
Was the Bronco too far from next town?

Not one tire but two were lost that day
On the back end of poor Bronco Blue.
Glad tidings I sing, for 2 spares did I bring.
‘I’m saved’, so I said, having NO clue.

First, I must change out the bad with the good.
Yet the spares were as bad as the bad (not good).
‘Heaven help me’, I cried (again), twas all I could sigh.
In the wind, freezing rain, I just stood.

A man with one leg stopped to help me, I swear,
While the wind was blowing a gale.
With the truck on the jack, moving forward and back…
‘Keep the good leg, kind sir’, I just wailed!

Blue Bronco limped into Tucumcari at dawn.
I stopped to replace the two tires.
‘We’re sorry my dear, but no purchase allowed here.
No National Account as a buyer’!

‘I’m just tryin’ to make some good ground, headin’ west!
To get to my final destination.
Please sell me two tires…NO MORE of this test!
This ain’t just some fun-filled vacation’!

Praise be to God, two new tires on Old Blue!
On to Moab of Utah not Jordan!
With a new lease on life, heading west without strife,
Lord get me to the Motel Morden!

Left Moab next day ‘fore the crack of the dawn,
Tryin’ hard to get back on track.
When lo and behold, another tire blew… gone.
Heaven help me (again)! Another setback!

In the darkness, I changed out that tire, with no help
From the semis that passed without slowing.
Used the better of two spares, now fortunately repaired.
I persevered, I had to keep going.

Not far down this road, I decided to slow… way down
And rid myself of much frustration.
It occurred to me that indeed I might need…
I might need a little fun-filled vacation.

Salt Lake City, here I come, to visit your sites!
Temple, Tabernacle and Choir.
Brigham Young holds his hand out, across to the bank,
His back to the Temple’s angelic crier.

I never knew Jesus made a journey FAR south,
But I needed to keep going west.
Four more hours through the Salt Flats, past Bonneville and Bingham.
Hello Elko! My much needed rest!

The Blue Bronco had quite a long trip to make
From Houston to Elko out West.
Full to the gunnels with kit for the field.
The Blue Bronco, to me, was the best.