Drove that 1973 Monte Carlo 300,000 miles from 1975 to 1995

With Jazz at Stephen F. Austin State Park in 1992

When I Die

[Verse 1]

Long ago when I was young,

Rock 'n' roll was number one.

Listening to WLS on the car radio,

When powerful AM was the way to go,

And we really had no other choice.

Still hear his “Because it's hard" voice.

But 1963 in Dallas made me quiver,

Shortly after, paralysis would deliver,

And I wouldn’t write a word again,

Couldn't even hold a pen. 

But I returned to college by fall,

Determined to follow my call.

[Chorus]

Goodbye to the hot rod days,

Have to think of it as a phase.

Those good old boys I left behind,

Always had a different mind,

Riding rockets and being kind.

[Verse 2]

Joined the religion of civil rights,

Rallied against foreign war fights.

Could always dance fast and real slow, 

Wooed freshman girls, but let ‘em go,

Marryin’ wasn't then on my mind.

Grass was greener in their eyes,

Always left me for more stable guys.

The summer of love left me lonely,

But 1968 would deliver from Dion,

Bobby with Abraham, Martin and John.

Questioning the track I was on.

Hope being an astronaut long gone.

[Chorus]

Goodbye to the hot rod days,

Have to think of it as a phase.

Those good old boys I left behind,

Always had a different mind,

Riding rockets and being kind.

[Verse 2]

Theoretical engineering not my style,

Studied philosophy for a brief while.

Left industry in my wake,

College teaching began to take.

A kind of freedom to explore,

Opening up poetry’s golden door.

Disco reigned across the dance floor,

But I loved rock and soul to my core,

Beatles, Jackson 5, Prince and more.

Eight tracking Janice crying out, 

Jimi’s guitar wailing his doubt.

While we all felt their mortal pain,

They left us standing in the rain.

[Chorus]

Goodbye to the hot rod days,

Have to think of it as a phase.

Those good old boys I left behind,

Always had a different mind,

Riding rockets and being kind.

[Verse 3]

We all cheered when the wall came down,

But trickle-down policy made us frown.

And regime changing wasn't my style,

From Vietnam on, failed by a mile. 

John Lennon imagined it before most,

And “Can’t we all just get along?"

Rodney King’s declaration, my song.

When college teaching lost its vibe,

Bloated administration saved my hide.

He said, “Let’s turn this place around.”

And for a while we did, but found,

The accountants sang a different tune.

Money flowed to the top and left the room.

[Chorus]

Goodbye to the hot rod days,

Have to think of it as a phase.

Those good old boys I left behind,

Always had a different mind,

Riding rockets and being kind.

[Verse 4]

Rollin’ the highways coast to coast,

Border to border, beyond, to toast.

Radio turned up the most.

Had to come to an end.

A new kind of rollin’ host,

Driving becoming a ghost.

Until, from a wheelchair bound,

Another 165,000 miles was found.

Flying with zero pressure controls.

Writing my voice like never before.

Rollin’ out novels, stories and more.

Technology saved my mortal soul.

While loving human hands,

Helped me make every goal.

[Chorus]

Goodbye to the hot rod days,

Have to think of it as a phase.

Those good old boys I left behind,

Always had a different mind,

Riding rockets and being kind.

[Verse 5]

I feel the ones that rap their pain, 

But slam poetry was never my game.

It's the old songs that stir my soul,

The ones that I remember and sing.

The ones that make my heart ring,

For when the final bell tolls. 

And time has come full circle,

I’ll remain young growing old.

Wondering if I've gained wisdom,

For which I am sometimes told.

When I die, don't bury me,

In that riverside calm with my clan.

Spread my ashes in the wind,

Everywhere I've ever been.

[Chorus]

Goodbye to the hot rod days,

Have to think of it as a phase.

Those good old boys I left behind,

Always had a different mind,

Riding rockets and being kind.

Goodbye to those carefree days,

Have to think of them as a phase.

Goin’ to a better place and time,

One that will always rhyme.

Copyright 2026 © Ronald W. Hull

01/08/26

You can read and print this poem at my website here.