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Pete Wells and the Negro Fireman Lyrics by Harry McClintock

Haywire Mac

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"Well, uh, starting from Cleveland now, Mac, let's go on down to the [?] and do that little bit about Pete, you know, the a, the man who, uh-"
"Oh, Pete Wells? Yeah."
"The old, the old, uh, negro fireman..?"
"Yeah, well, uh, this was on a, this was on the towboat call to Josh Cooke, and, uh, Pete was a little, skinny old feller, and, uh his three firemen were big six-footers, and, uh, this little skinny fella weighed about four pounds less than a straw hat. Used to boss those big guys around, and, uh, he'd say, uh 'Come on boys, let's load her!' And they'd open up the doors. Clear across, there was five boilers in the, uh, wing, uh, there was a, these fire doors. Double, and, the boys would open up the doors and tie in and they'd lower this slack that they fired with in there. Piled it up, and, uh, close the doors. Let it burn for a few minutes and Pete would watch the steam gauge. 'Come on boys, we mohawk her!' Well that meant to take out the big hooks, y'know, a long iron bar with hooks at the end, and they'd spread that coal all evenly all over the fire. Close the doors, stand by for a couple of minutes. Get a breath of air. And Pete would say 'Alright boys, come on, we, we [?]' and, uh, they'd take the slash bars, stick em in between the great bars and break up, to, uh, break up that, uh, the clinkers that the, uh, slack would inevitably form. Well, for cleaning fires, Pete would say 'come on boys, we'll ransack her'. And, uh, that meant, uh, get in there and dig out all those clinkers that, uh, formed. And, uh, I heard old Pete one day, he was always singing, and, uh, he was... I sneaked up on him, and he was over and over again he was singing..."
I'm glad my belly don't drag on the ground
I'm glad my belly don't drag on the ground
"Well, it was something to be thankful for!"
[Laughing]
Credits
Harry McClintock

Harry McClintock

About “Pete Wells and the Negro Fireman” by Harry McClintock

Read the complete lyrics to "Pete Wells and the Negro Fireman" by Harry McClintock from the album "Haywire Mac". On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Country.

"Pete Wells and the Negro Fireman" is performed by Harry McClintock. from the album "Haywire Mac" This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "Pete Wells and the Negro Fireman", explore more songs by Harry McClintock using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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Frequently asked questions

"Pete Wells and the Negro Fireman" is credited to Harry McClintock. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"Pete Wells and the Negro Fireman" appears on "Haywire Mac".

Visit the Harry McClintock artist page at /artist/harry-mcclintock for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.