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lonnie irving - pinball machine lyrics

[spoken intro]
this story’s about an ex-truck driver bein’ named john james wall before his friends blackballed him and nick-named him pinball. i gathered this story from a truck stop in gallipolis, ohio when this old feller, i’d say, 70 years old asked me to buy him a strong cup of coffee and a piece of good apple pie

i bought the coffee and the pie for the old feller and i’m awful glad i did because he winked his eye and smiled and said “my!, my!” then i noticed in a few minutes, with trembling hands he pushed a part of his pie and coffee back and looked at me with tears running down his poor old weather-beaten cheek, and this is what he said…

i’m an old hog-hauler, i drove a big truck
i shot the pinball machine, but it caused me bad luck
but all i ever made in a pinball machine
i’d get four catty-corners, then i’d miss the 16
i wish they’d outlaw them old pinball machines
many weeks they have caused me to live on sardines

last time i called my wife on the phone
the first thing she says, “john, when can you come home?”
“i’ve got a load of hogs and they’ve got to go
i’ll see you when i get back from chicago.”
she says, “john, you know i love you, i wish you wouldn’t go
send your babies some money, they are hungry and cold”
the last thing she said and then she hung up
“john, you give up my lovin’, just to drive an old truck”

i made my trip on to chicago
i was gone two months, ’cause i shot up my dough
when i got home my family was gone
the best friend i had, rung my telephone
he says, “john, i guess you wonder about your babies and wife?
pneumonia got your babies and your wife took her life”
i lost all my friends, i can’t sleep for bad dreams
i dream about an old truck and a pinball machine

[spoken outro]
i never will forget the last words that old man said
“oh! lord, if i could live my life over!” and then he fell dead
they tell me john was a clean cut young man at the age of 19
but now he’s in his grave…
a victim of a big old truck, and a pinball machine

- lonnie irving lyrics

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