Drivin’ on Glass

10/2007
Lyrics & Music by Melodie Somers & Donald Adamczyk
PAu-3-349-357, 10/16/2007

Verse 1
Way up in Northern Canada sits a mine called Diavik,
With 40 Billion Bucks in diamonds beggin’ to be picked.
Now everything the miners need to dig up mega bucks,
Rolls up to those diamond mines on the backs of mighty trucks.

There’s diesel fuel and fertilizer, food and pipe and pay,
That leave the yards from Yellowknife in convoys night and day.
To run that mine another year will take 10,000 loads;
There’s just one minor problem though -- there ain’t no access roads.

So, we wait until December, winter chills the Arctic Zone;
And the lakes around those diamond mines get frozen hard as stone.
Then I drive my rig 300K across that frosted glass,
And pray to God that ice don’t break, and drown my frozen ass.

[Chorus:]
Oh, Mama!  Why’d I leave my babies? My illusions are in danger of a fall.
Jesse’s turnin’ one in three more days ‘n’ her daddy can’t even call.
But I’ll send her to college one of these days ‘n’ she’ll thank me after it all.
What am I doin’ on a sea of ice? There‘s nothin‘ to say, but "It’s been a slice."
Fearin’ the thaw ‘n’ freezin’ my ass, I’m an Ice Road Trucker.... I’m Drivin’ on glass.

Verse 2
That ice clock’s tickin’ so damn fast, it’s a real dash for the cash;
But with just eleven weeks to drive, I can’t afford a crash.
If I wreck my truck, until its fixed my business can be found,
Rentin’ a stool at the Monkey Bar, ‘n’ buyin’ another round.

There’s just three feet of ice between me and that steely lake;
If I drive too fast, beneath that ice, I’ll cause a rolling wake.
The wake’ll make the surface pitch, ‘n’ the ice will crack and break;
‘N’ me, I’ll spend eternity, on the bottom of Yamba Lake.

No, they’ll never find my body, find my truck or find my load;
‘Cause the ice’ll freeze back over ‘fore the next guy’s down the road.
By the time they send a rescue truck, long hours will have passed;
The lake will close its jaws again -- and I‘ll have breathed my last.

[Chorus:]
Oh, Mama!  Why’d I leave my babies? My illusions are in danger of a fall.
Johnny’s turnin’ two in three more days ‘n’ his daddy can’t even call.
But I’ll send him to college one of these days ‘n’ he’ll thank me after it all.
What am I doin’ on a sea of ice? There‘s nothin‘ to say, but "It’s been a slice."
Fearin’ the thaw ‘n’ freezin’ my ass, I’m an Ice Road Trucker.... I’m Drivin’ on glass.

Verse 3
My brake lines might be frozen, and my axle could be cracked;
The cold is killin’ this damn truck, but it ain’t turnin’ back.
My last cab was so frigid, frostbite turned my right foot black;
But if I don’t keep on drivin’, no cigars, no Cadillac.

Truck’s overweight, ain’t slept for days, an’ it’s 54 below;
But at 1600 bucks a load, I’ll watch my fortune grow.
Ain’t seen my wife or kids for weeks, downhearted and alone;
Big payoff at the end of this -- for me is goin’ home.

The Northern Lights dance across the sky, ’n’ create an eerie sight;
My lonesome engine’s rumbling, spoils the silence of the night.
Caribou, wolf and grizzly bear stare at me as I pass;
Just a solitary sailor -- on an ocean paved with glass.