"Thank God and Greyhound" is a song made famous by American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

musician Roy Clark. Written by Larry Kingston and John Edward 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''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

chart that November and reached the lower ends of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at #90.

Content

"Thank God and Greyhound" is a "twin-tempoed" song in 3/4 time measure. The lyrics are sung in

first-person narrative A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-telle ...

from the point of view of a man lamenting about a woman, with whom he is involved in what has become a toxic relationship. The tempo in the first half of the song is slow and melancholy (augmented with piano in the style of

Floyd Cramer Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "half step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signatu ...

), with the man telling how his woman, the dominant one in their relationship, squandered his small fortune and demoralized him to the point of humiliation. Regardless, he loved her enough to endure her belligerence and quietly hoped that she would change, but then one day, without warning or explanation, the woman bluntly tells him that she is leaving him. As the man watches her board a

Greyhound bus Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and p ...

he sings, "...and all I can think of... is...", at which point the accompaniment briefly stops and then, abruptly and ironically, changes to a bright and fast

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...

with the now-jubilant man completing the verse with "...thank God and Greyhound you're gone!", expressing his joy and outright relief that the woman is finally out of his life. Lyrical imagery of the bus pulling out of the station is used to underscore the man's delight over the now-ended relationship, summing up his feelings with the words, "It may sound kinda cruel, but I've been silent too long; thank God and Greyhound you're gone!"

Chart performance

References

*Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs: 1944-2005," 2006. * Allmusic — ''Thank God and Greyhound'' by Roy Clark {{Roy Clark 1970 singles Roy Clark songs Songs about buses