Drunken Driver

DESCRIPTION: Two little children are struck and killed by a drunken driver; he turns out to be their absent father. Listeners are warned not to drink and drive.
AUTHOR: "Banjo Bill" Cornett
EARLIEST DATE: 1947 (recording, Molly O'Day)
LONG DESCRIPTION: Singer warns drunken drivers that they'll never know when their time will come, says s/he has seen an accident that would teach offenders never to "drink a drop/while the steering wheel's in your hand." The accident, on 20 May, killed two "loving children." Their mother has died; their father has run away. They are talking when a car driven by a drunk man comes around the curve; the driver honks his horn, saying, "Get out of the road, you two little fools." The driver staggers from the car and recognizes the dying little boy as his son. He prays for forgiveness; the boy opens his eyes, saying, "Daddy, you've come once more." Listeners are warned not to drink and drive.
KEYWORDS: grief warning abandonment crime death drink crash injury father mother children
FOUND IN: US(SE)
Roud #6982
RECORDINGS:
Dillard Chandler, "Drunken Driver" (on Chandler01, DarkHoll)
New Lost City Ramblers, "The Drunken Driver" (on NLCR8)
Molly O'Day, "The Drunken Driver" (Columbia 37938, 1947)
File: RcDruDri

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