'He wore black denim trousers and motorcycle boots and a black leather jacket with an eagle on the back. He had a screamin' cycle that took off like a gun. That fool was the terror of highway 101' Song ended with his supposed demise in an encounter with a semi and only finding said trousers and boots on the highway...

Name of the tune is 'Black Denim Trousers' from the mid 50s.

Used to hear this on AM radio WELI out of New Haven, Ct. on a night program called 'Juke Box Saturday Night' (I wonder where they got that name..?)

'But he met a screamin diesel that was California bound and in the wreckage all they found - were black denim trousers and motorcycle boots and a black leather jacket with an eagle on the back.'

'But they never found the cycle that took off like a gun and they never found the terror of highway 101.'

CHORUS: He wore black denim trousers and motorcycle boots
and a black leather jacket with an eagle on the back.
He had a hopped-up cycle that took off like a gun.
That fool was the terror of highway 101'

Oh, he never washed his face and he never combed his hair
He had axle grease embedded underneath his fingernails
On the muscle of his arm was a red tattoo,
A picture of a heart saying "Mother, I love you."
(CHORUS)

Oh, he had a little girlfriend and her name was Mary Lou,
But he treated her just like he treated all the rest.
And everybody pitied her, cause everybody knew
He loved that dog-gone motor cycle best.
(CHORUS

Oh, Mary Lou she pleaded and she begged him not to leave,
But he said "I'll make five hundred miles before the sun goes down."
But he met a screamin' diesel that was California bound,
and when they cleared the wreckage all they found -

LAST CHORUS: Were his black denim trousers and motorcycle boots
and the black leather jacket with the eagle on the back.'
But they never found the cycle that took off like a gun
And they never found the terror of highway 101.'

Logging trucks were always a danger, because to save gas the truckers would take the trucks out of gear going down a winding mountain road, (Northwestern Washington and Northern California) and without the braking power of the engine they would frequently be going too fast to make a curve and over turn, sometimes taking another vehicle with them. Jack-knifing on rain slicked roads was also pretty common with them (Northwestern Washington get a lot of rain). I knew some people killed when their car couldn't avoid a truck that jack-knifed right in front of them.

'Ah - but I was so much older than - I'm younger then that now...'

LaMarca says she was nervous about her first open sing for fear her repertoire wouldn't be "pure folk" enough. When I sang the Beatles song "Rocky Raccoon", with a strong supporting cast on the kazoo parts, she decided we weren't quite the purist snobs we're reported to be.

We have one guy at our open sings with an immense repertoire of folk songs. Bill respects his musical knowledge tremendously. But of all the songs Barry does, my favorite is "Love Potion Number 9."

When someone throws out a novelty song like that, you'd be surprised how many people join in with gusto. On the other hand, Bill just sits there bemused. He has avoided pop music so efficiently that often he's the only person in the room who never even heard of the song.