Thank God and Greyhound
Encyclopedia
"Thank God and Greyhound" is a song made famous by country music
singer Roy Clark
. Written by Larry Kingston and Earl Nix, the song was released in 1970 as the second single to the album I Never Picked Cotton. The song was a top 10 hit on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles
chart that November.
In the first part of the song, a young man (the song's main protagonist) sadly reflects on a relationship just ended. He tells how a woman — the apparent dominant one in the relationship — squandered his finances and belittled him to the point of humiliation. Yet, through the emotional abuse, the man puts up with the woman's antagonistic behavior, refusing to stand up to her in the vain hope that she would change.
One day, the woman announces to her boyfriend that she is leaving and refuses to explain. After their farewells, the man watches her board a Greyhound bus
and the coach pull away. Following the line "... all I can think of ... is ...," the song's tempo changes from depressing to the ironically
more upbeat ("thank God and Greyhound you're gone!").
Following the tempo change, the man is overjoyed and utterly relieved that his now ex-girlfriend — the woman who had been antagonizing him all these years — is finally out of his life. Imagery of the bus pulling away (the engine hum and the black exhaust cloud) is used to underscore the man's ecstasy over the now-ended relationship, rationalizing his feelings in this way: "it may be kind of cruel, but I've been silent too long."
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer Roy Clark
Roy Clark
Roy Linwood Clark is an American country music musician and performer. He is best known for hosting Hee Haw, a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969–1992. Clark has been an important and influential figure in country music, both as a performer and helping to popularize the genre...
. Written by Larry Kingston and Earl Nix, the song was released in 1970 as the second single to the album I Never Picked Cotton. The song was a top 10 hit on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart that November.
Song plot
"Thank God and Greyhound" is a twin-tempoed song, the tempo reflecting the man's emotions as the story plays out.In the first part of the song, a young man (the song's main protagonist) sadly reflects on a relationship just ended. He tells how a woman — the apparent dominant one in the relationship — squandered his finances and belittled him to the point of humiliation. Yet, through the emotional abuse, the man puts up with the woman's antagonistic behavior, refusing to stand up to her in the vain hope that she would change.
One day, the woman announces to her boyfriend that she is leaving and refuses to explain. After their farewells, the man watches her board a Greyhound bus
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
and the coach pull away. Following the line "... all I can think of ... is ...," the song's tempo changes from depressing to the ironically
Irony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
more upbeat ("thank God and Greyhound you're gone!").
Following the tempo change, the man is overjoyed and utterly relieved that his now ex-girlfriend — the woman who had been antagonizing him all these years — is finally out of his life. Imagery of the bus pulling away (the engine hum and the black exhaust cloud) is used to underscore the man's ecstasy over the now-ended relationship, rationalizing his feelings in this way: "it may be kind of cruel, but I've been silent too long."
Chart performance
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 6 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 90 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 2 |