Johnno

You know, you hear a lot of stories about the road

Truckies are a superstitious bunch

Johnno was a lot that way

I remember one time we got cut off by floods going north

I wanted to cut over the Dorrigo

No way Johnno would be in it

Packin’ em just at the thought

Black cats…walking under ladders

All them old sayings…he believed ‘em

Mad bastard that Johnno

The old bloke thought the sun shone out of him, and I reckon he

knew the sound of Johnno’s old Mack a mile away

We’d be sittin’ in Gurley Pub on a Sunday arvo, knocking down

a coupla coldies, and the old bloke would whine and start thumpin’

his tail and race to the door

Sure enough…Johnno would come rollin’ in five minutes later and

the old bloke would go berserk jumping around like a young pup

Sometime swe’d be just taking it easy, just makin’ a mile and

behind us, blastin’ his air horns and flashin’ his lights, and give

us a nudge up the ring with his bull bar

And we’d pull into a lay-by and have a brew and a yarn

A good mate Johnno

Ran out of road one night down Holbrook way, don’t know why or how,

she started fish-tailin’ on him…and went over

Well I hit the anchors and ran down to him but…

He didn’t need me anymore

Coppers got me to call his missus…said it would be easier comin’

from me…easier for them they meant

Can’t pass that place without thinkin’ of Johnno…’specially now.

See, I was down that way a coupla months later…just lopin’ along

and takin’ it easy and the old bloke starts whining, and turnin’

round in circles on his seat

And this bloke comes boring up behind us, blasting his air horns

and flashing his lights, and gives me a nudge up the ring with

his bull bar

And I thinks “Who’s this bloody clown”…but I pull into a lay-by

and he follows me in and we kill our lights and I got out…

And there’s nothing there

Told the missus…she reckoned I’d had too much lunatic soup

but I hadn’t touched a drop

That was ten years ago now…and Johnno often stops me for

a yarn and a beer…the old bloke rides with him now…and

we often light a camp-fire…they feel the cold you see?

Maybe you’ll see us one night…

Stop and join us…and we’ll talk about the road.