Man With The BP Hat

Modified lyrics to The Man With The Big Hat
performed by Jerry Jeff Walker and Willie Nelson


Click the play button and follow along...




Jeff Jeff Walker:
In a 'lil bar south of Cut Off
Was on a sultry Louisiana day
Oil Boy comin' off the road, just to pass the time away
Pulled a stool up to the bar. Pushed his hat back on his head
I listened to the stories told, the words that Oil Boy said.
He said...

Willie Nelson:
I can tell you stories 'bout shoveling lube in the rain
Talk about Dick Cheney, and the comin' of the shame
I can talk about the slaughter, of the Spoonbills that flew
Sing you songs of baby Terns, come-a-looking for their crew

CHORUS (both)
And the man with the BP hat is buyin'
Drink up while the drinking is free
Drink up to Brown Pelicans a dead or a dying
Drink to my compadres and me
Drink to my compadres and me

Jeff Jeff Walker:
Well his shirt was brown and faded
And his hat was dripping black
The pants that once were blue were grey, had a pocket gone in back
He had a finger missin' from a hand that laid crude-soaked boom
As he laughed and talked of Oil Boy life, you knew it weren't perfume.
He said...

Willie Nelson:
I rode on the cleanup drive from here to Timbalier Bay
Ten days in the Tyvek suit, and my face is ashen gray
I rode from here to Atchafalaya, without a womans' smile
The porta-potty where I took a crap, was the only light for miles

CHORUS (both)
And the man with the BP hat is buyin'
Drink up while the drinking is free
Drink up to Brown Pelicans a dead or a dying
Drink to my compadres and me
Drink to my compadres and me

Jeff Jeff Walker:
He rested easy at the bar, his foot upon the rail
You know he laughed 'n talked of times he had, tossin’ globs in a pail
The silence never broken, as the words poured from his lips
Just quiet as the dispersant he carried on his hip.
He said...

Willie Nelson:
I seen the day so hot your alligator weed would wilt
And if you had a white plastic bag, you’d fill it with oily silt
And sheens, I’ve seen sheens where your boots slipped in the sand
And your only thoughts was leavin', but you witnessed it firsthand

CHORUS (both)
And the man with the BP hat is buyin'
Drink up while the drinking is free
Drink up to Brown Pelicans a dead or a dying
Drink to my compadres and me
Drink to my compadres and me

Jeff Jeff Walker:
Well he rolled one more tar ball, as he turned toward the door
I heard his cell phone jingling, as his Tyvek booties hit the floor
He loosened up his belt a notch, pulled his hat down on his head
As he turned to say goodbye to me, this is what the Oil Boy said....

Willie Nelson:
Now the boom-lines is chasin’ oil slicks, and the newsman stokes his fear
And to see a beachcombing Oil Boy, is a sight that's mighty queer
But an Oil Boy’s life is lonely, and his lot is kinda harsh
But had it not been for men like me, there wouldn't be no marsh.

CHORUS (both)
Alright, and the man with the BP hat is buyin'
Drink up while the drinking is free
Drink up to Brown Pelicans a dead or a dying
Drink to my compadres and me

Drink to my compadres and me

Energy: Hindsight Shaping Foresight

Imagine our hindsight 50 years hence. Here's a film clip shot circa 1954 that we view from the high ground of hindsight. This over-turned street car in flames signified the end of the street car era in the Twin Cities.



Are there alternate ways this street car demise story might have played out? A few If only scenarios came to mind:

• If only the US had not been so singularly focused on promoting the exponential growth of the automobile.
• If only city planners had the foresight to devise better ways for street cars to coexist with cars and pedestrians.
• If only city planners had the foresight to save a few street cars for limited, alternate uses like tourist traffic or sightseeing.
• If only city planners had the foresight to pave over the street car tracks rather than rip them out.
• If only the city council had the foresight to vote to warehouse the street cars for re-use instead of burning them.
  

In June of 1954, the last of the street cars operated by the now defunct Twin City Lines (TCL) were unceremoniously burned and salvaged for scrap metal.

Fast Forward: April 2010, Oil Spill Disaster

Satellite images from NASA track the April 2010 oil spill disaster as the plume disperses and migrates toward the coast. The prognosis for the impact on fisheries and shore habitats is bleak.

In 10, 20 or 50 years, what will our If only scenarios for these images be?

There might be a silver lining. A silver lining like a race-to-the-moon commitment by the US Congress, and the President, to forging and championing a forward-thinking energy policy.

 Heed the lessons of hindsight. Commit to an energy policy with foresight.