Track of the Week #59 - Great Car Dealer War

[Sterling Big Mouth]

Been drinking all night long, got a job to do
got paid 500 bucks just like the other few
To pour the gasoline, to strike the match
leave without being seen, Chris Blade Pontiac
I don't ask questions, I don't assume
you'll do the same if you know what's good for you
You pay attention, don't hang around
it's so exciting when it all comes down

Didn't kill nobody, didn't mean no harm
just making money and having fun
Didn't kill nobody, but I know the score
I just start the fires in the great car dealer war

Big Jim Stephens was the Chevy giant
brand new showroom, million dollar inventory
A tall, beautiful mansion at the lake
from the used car lot 3 years before
Things lead to another, and more and more
hired by the same man, I burned out the night before

Didn't kill nobody, didn't mean no harm
in 6 months time, I burned every damn one
Didn't kill nobody, like I said before
I just start the fires in the great car dealer war
I just start the fires in the great car dealer war

Big Jim Stephens, he ain't no more
gunned down in cold blood
on his brand new showroom floor
Blood on the Corvettes, for all to see
on the Monte Carlo and the brand new IROC-Z
No need to investigate, they haven't still
someone took the fall, so I'm sure they never will
I don't ask questions, I don't assume
I just take a long hard look when I walk into a room

Didn't kill nobody, didn't mean no harm
just making money and having fun
Didn't kill nobody, like I said before
just another soldier in the great car dealer war

Didn't kill nobody, didn't mean no harm
it ain't never personal, just a job to be done
Didn't kill nobody, but I know the score
done my tour of duty in the great car dealer war
done my tour of duty in the great car dealer war

From the gloom in the first chord, you can tell where this song is going. It doesn’t get any better with the first line: Been drinking all night long, got a job to do. I love how Patterson needs only 10 words to sum up the mindset of a low life pyro who’s willing to risk jail time and the lives of others to make his $500.

The story of Big Jim Stephens (who belongs in a bad TV ad), makes me wish this song was paired up with Goode’s Field Road on BTCD. Not only does Big Jim’s fate seem like what’s waiting for the main character in GFR if he doesn’t take the ride in the black car, but the broken glass melody of GCDW just seems to fit on a gothic rock and roll record from the South.

In all, GCDW is damn high on my list of Patterson songs. Every line leads to the next, he actually makes you understand the goings on, if not feel for a low level crook, and he shows off his uncanny ability to string together cool lyrics like “Blood on the Corvettes for all to see, on the Monte Carlo and the brand new IROC-Z” and “I don't ask questions, I don't assume, I just take a long hard look when I walk into a room.” I love the up and down bass riff at the back end of the song, Brad’s mix up of the beat around the 3:00 mark, the continuous guitar solo that carries everything, and the longing in Patterson’s voice when talking about that tall, beautiful mansion on the lake. Great song with a great title.

[ariedl]

I've also always really enjoyed this song, since I first got it with the "Comes With A Smile" magazine. I believe that it and "Goode's Field Road" were originally part of the song cycle on The Dirty South that included "Boys From Alabama", "Cottonseed", and "The Buford Stick". I don't know if they were left off due to lack of space, or because somebody decided there can in fact be too much of a good thing, but I am glad that the band finally released GCDW and the original version of GFR.

I was listening to this song the other day, and thinking, no one but Patterson could make IROC-Z work in a song!

[Zip City]

This would have been one of the best tracks on TDS. I would gladly trade one of Patterson's Pusser songs for it.

[Clams]

The very definition of a slow burner. I always associated this song with the Buford/Alabama/Cottonseed suite but now that you guys mention it, it fits with Goode's Field too (esp the BTCD version). Not sure it would've been a good fit on BTCD though. So I assume there's more than a kernel of truth to the lyrics. Anyone know the backstory?

Public service announcement: I'm gonna be away for a few weeks later this summer, so if anyone wants to sign up to write one of these song of the week threads, please shoot me a PM. Doesn't matter if you've written one before, the more volunteers the better. Trust me, plenty of good songs are left.

[RevMatt]

One of the strengths of the narrative is the irony that it is the same person who lights the fires in this war. He is the shadowy figure who, although he is the one committing the actual crimes, stays out of the fray. If Chris Blade ends up shooting Big Jim Stephens for having his car lot burned down, it doesn't matter to the arsonist. He gets paid. He denies any responsibility or culpability when the war moves beyond arson to murder. But despite the denials, his role seems to bother him. I don't think he has convinced himself that he bears no responsibility in this.

Great song. I caught it on the second night in Atlanta in March 2010.

[ariedl]

I'm not sure what this is from, but here's a note from Patterson on the song:

3. The Great Car Dealer War
This is an out take from The Dirty South. Once upon a time, in my hometown, most of the car dealers burned down within a year period, some more than once. I wrote this as a fictional account of the story from the point of view of a hired arsonist, taking the assumption that they all hired the same guy to burn each other down. It was one of my favorites for the album, but the album was running long as hell and had too many slow songs, so this one had to get left behind. Shame, because it fit the storyline of that album like a glove. The names were changed to protect the guilty.

On a separate note, I had a friend who was a volunteer fireman around that time and he fought most of the fires. He was a drummer and a pyromaniac (kinda goes together don't it?) and crazier than hell. He ended up working for Kiss as a pyrotechnician. I patterned the main character after him, but I'm pretty sure he has an alibi.

[jimmyjack]

Excellent tune - one of Pat's best for sure, especially lyrically.

[ariedl]

Does anyone know if it's Shonna or Earl playing bass on this track? I've tried (unsuccessfully) to keep track of the band's studio sessions, and I have a note that the band first recorded tracks for "The Dirty South" in March 2003, well before Shonna joined the band. I'm pretty sure that GCDW was one of the tracks they recorded. I know they eventually re-recorded all of the album tracks with Shonna, but I'm not sure about the tracks that didn't make the album, and unfortunately, I don't have a good enough ear to compare their styles.

[RevMatt]

Does anyone know if it's Shonna or Earl playing bass on this track? I've tried (unsuccessfully) to keep track of the band's studio sessions, and I have a note that the band first recorded tracks for "The Dirty South" in March 2003, well before Shonna joined the band. I'm pretty sure that GCDW was one of the tracks they recorded. I know they eventually re-recorded all of the album tracks with Shonna, but I'm not sure about the tracks that didn't make the album, and unfortunately, I don't have a good enough ear to compare their styles.

According to the liner notes on TFP vinyl, Shonna plays bass on Great Car Dealer War.

[ariedl]

According to the liner notes on TFP vinyl, Shonna plays bass on Great Car Dealer War.

Thanks for the info, Rev. One of the disadvantages of having all my CDs and LPs boxed up right now is that I can't look up stuff like that as easily!

[bovine knievel]

I think this song would fit nicely on Go Go Boots.

['Scratch]

One of my favorites. Love that first chord.

[GuitarManUpstairs]

I think this song would fit nicely on Go Go Boots.

I believe I or someone else (may have been you), said the same back in the GGB thread....in any case, I wholeheartedly agree.

[bovine knievel]

I think this song would fit nicely on Go Go Boots.

I believe I or someone else (may have been you), said the same back in the GGB thread....in any case, I wholeheartedly agree.

Apparently Zip agrees too...

was listening to The Fine Print last night and I feel that The Great Car Dealer War would fit nice on GGB, maybe right before or after Used To Be A Cop.

Good call

[Iowan]

I think if this had ended up on TDS I would like it more.

As it stands, having not heard it until the TFP came out, my initial thought was "Yay. Another Patterson Hood song about Southern criminals that may or may not kill somebody. I haven't heard this before." It has definitely grown on me, and I've decided that part of my initial thoughts were the product of it being included on an odds and ends compilation.































'

[Clams]

The Great Pizza Dealer War???

http://www.ocala.com/article/20111028/A ... hn-s?tc=ar

[wolfgang]

Basic backstory: In the late 70s, a lot of car dealers burned here in the Shoals. I assume the name "Big Jim Stevens" comes from the current Chevy dealership in Muscle Shoals, Jim Bishop, and current one in Florence, Nelda Stephenson. "Big Jim Stevens" in the song is actually a man named Bobby Mitchell. He had a small used car lot in Florence that didn't seem to do that much business, but he had a huge mansion on the water. Then all of a sudden he opened up the large Chevy dealership (where Nelda Stephenson Chevy is, if you know the area). Then an airplane crashed on its way from here to Atlanta that was full of drugs. That airplane was traced directly back to Bobby Mitchell. Shortly after the airplane crash, Bobby Mitchell was found dead in his showroom. The cops pinned it on an African American gentleman that was mentally handicapped. The story goes that the local paper was threatened to be burned down if they pursued the Mitchell story any more. The alleged murderer was probably incapable of committing the crime, but what does that matter when you solve a murder in a small town.

[blackwll]

[quote="Iowan"]I think if this had ended up on TDS I would like it more.

As it stands, having not heard it until the TFP came out, my initial thought was "Yay. Another Patterson Hood song about Southern criminals that may or may not kill somebody. I haven't heard this before." It has definitely grown on me, and I've decided that part of my initial thoughts were the product of it being included on an odds and ends compilation. [quote="Iowan"]

I think it was on the "Rock-tober" compilation they released in October 2006, like one track a day until Halloween. Good stuff, half of it is on The Fine Print.

[Smitty]

I think if this had ended up on TDS I would like it more.

As it stands, having not heard it until the TFP came out, my initial thought was "Yay. Another Patterson Hood song about Southern criminals that may or may not kill somebody. I haven't heard this before." It has definitely grown on me, and I've decided that part of my initial thoughts were the product of it being included on an odds and ends compilation.

I think it was on the "Rock-tober" compilation they released in October 2006, like one track a day until Halloween. Good stuff, half of it is on The Fine Print.

I remember a killer live "Careless" off that Rocktober comp.

[Cole Younger]

I feel lucky to have caught this one live.

I really just like the song ok, but it's entirely possible that they never play this one live again.

[vacant]

I was listening to some random tunes last night and this came up. Such a badass tune. The storytelling here is top notch too. As someone above said, every line just leads to the next and furthers the story. Too bad it seems to be forgotten. Only sixteen airings in 2009-2010, with none in the northeast. It would be great to see it pop up over the spring tour.