The Bus to Nevermore

 

The snow lay deep on the countryside

When they left to catch the bus,

Heading out to Milwaukee, first

They left New York in their dust,

The guys were happy and laughing then

To be off on the winter tour,

The pickers picked and the jokers joked

On the bus to Nevermore.

 

They'd had a couple of hits or three

And they'd topped the charts with one,

The kids were mad for their rock 'n roll

At each auditorium,

The towns they travelled were tiny towns

But the audiences roared,

They rocked Kenosha, then headed out

On the bus to Nevermore.

 

The heater failed and the bus, it froze

And the smiles then died away,

They huddled up in the cold and dark

But they played each town by day,

They switched their buses, more than once

When the diesel ceased its roar,

But every bus in its turn was just

The bus to Nevermore.

 

The bus broke down on a lonely road

As the snow fell through the night,

The fields were a winter wonderland

But the cold began to bite,

By the time that a roving patrolman

Found the bus, they were more than sore,

The drummer suffered from frostbite

On the bus to Nevermore.

 

The tour was running in circles

From Wisconsin to Iowa,

To Minnesota and back again

But nobody seemed to care,

Except the fellows that rode the bus,

Each day they cursed and swore,

'This bus is part of the Devil's fleet!

The bus to Nevermore.'

 

Tired and dirty and cold they drove

To Appleton, Green Bay,

Then overnight they had huddled up

For the trip to Clear Lake,

They played the show in their crumpled clothes

While they thought of the bus's roar,

But three decided they'd had enough

Of the bus to Nevermore.

 

They grabbed a lift to the airport there,

And hired a private plane,

To fly them to Minnesota in

The snow, or the driving rain,

They didn't care, they were near despair

With the cold in the bus, and more,

They could fly ahead, not having the dread

Of the bus to Nevermore.

 

They laughed at the Mason City field

As the plane took off in the night,

'We're gonna be rich, and cut some discs

When this tour is over - Right?'

They looked back down at the bus on the ground

Where they'd left it, then they swore,

They'd never go back on that bus again,

The bus to Nevermore.

 

The plane was found in a farmer's field

At daylight, in the corn,

Their bodies lay in the snow that day

And left the world to mourn,

He'd said it well in that final cut

When he sang it, once before,

To our Lonesome Tears as he said, 'I guess

It don't matter anymore.'

 

20 February 2009

 

David Lewis Paget

 

(50th Anniversary of the plane crash that killed

Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper,

3 February 1959).

Reviews

[Valentine]

David, I am surprised you remembered this..it seems back themn there were a lot of singers lost in tragic accidents or over doses etc..Jim Reeves left the airport here and it crashed killing him and the piano player that lived here,,Janis Joplin overdosed before she even got started..so many lost so young..Another nice write and tribute..God bless you and Lyn..valentine

[Monday Parker]

Man. That was amazing. Such a good write.

[Silent Kim aka mizmetap..]

A great story told like only you can tell it.

[Crazy Cat Man]

awesome

[Mark]

Okay, come clean--You're really Gordon Lightfoot, incognito, yah?

[Norma J. Jessee]

I remember watching the movie and crying . I was only eight years old when it happened and at that time I wasn't much into singers or movie stars as we didn't own a t.v. or radio for that matter. And since we didn't have electricity neither would have worked if we did. But I learned of this tragedy later and mourned the loss of some great talent.
Your poem is a great tribute to them and they would have been proud.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

The "Bus to Nevermore" and the "Plane to Neveragain." It was a blessing to read your words this eve, always enjoyable, thought-provoking, and heart-touching. Your words give us journey into the haunts of the past that linger into the present. Always a pleasure!

Your friend in poetry,

Linda Marie Van Tassell

[Wildfleour]

Where I live there have been two downed planes - one a miraculous ending, the other tragic.

Another great write, David.

[Lady leah]

Outstanding write & o so tragic indeed, they'll never be forgotten n live in our hearts forever.