Posted on 02/13/2015 10:43:32 AM PST by thackney
I had been wanting to go to Williston, North Dakota for quite a while. Having heard so much about the boom going on there, I couldn’t wait to see it for myself – up close and personal! The biggest obstacle in planning the trip however was finding a place to stay. Like so many, I had heard the stories of $2,000 and $3,000 a month rent – if you could find a place to rent at all! So, I turned to Facebook...
I posted on Facebook that I was interested in coming to Williston to visit some rigs and sell some CD’s and I asked if anyone had a place available where I could stay. I stated I didn't need anything fancy, just a place to sleep and shower. A young man named Paul Tinnes contacted me and told me I could share his one bedroom apartment. So it was settled.
The day after Labor Day 2012, I headed for Williston, North Dakota!
Boomtown, U.S.A.
Three days and 1600 miles later, I rolled into Boomtown, U.S.A. In Williston, if you didn't know where you were going then the place of choice to meet was the Wal-Mart parking lot. Paul met me there on his motorcycle and led me to where I would be staying. I asked if I could stay for two weeks and he said no problem. My sleeping quarters while I was there consisted of two mattresses in the living room, one on top of the other. Worked for me!
Paul was a great guy. He was between jobs when I arrived, and we got to do many rig runs together. He, like me, is in his element around oilfield hands. We had some unforgettable times and became extremely close friends!
Oilpatch Inspirations
I met many people during my stay in Williston. One of these people was an inspirational man named Allan, a Vietnam Veteran. Allan came to Williston now and then to work on light towers. Allan knew Paul and since motel rooms were so expensive, he made a deal with him. If Allan could come and stay in Paul’s apartment whenever he had to come to Williston to work on light towers, Allan would pay Paul’s rent which would be cheaper than several nights in a motel. Paul agreed and the deal was made.
Instead of staying two weeks, I stayed three months!
I visited about 60 rigs and sold lots of CD’s. I also made the Boom Or Bust video while I was there, but that is another story...
When I was ready to leave, Allan was there. We walked outside so he could have a smoke. He told me I didn’t owe him anything for my stay, but if I ever did another CD, would I do a song about throwing the chain? He said he used to throw chain and really missed it – especially since they have just about gotten away from the chain altogether in today’s oilfield. I told him that was a deal!
I promised him I would, thanked he and Paul for their hospitality, and the next morning headed back to Nashville. It was the first week of December.
The Art Of Throwin' Chain Back in Nashville, I began my endeavor to fulfill my promise to Allan.
I knew what throwing the chain was, but to write a song you have to really know exactly what the job is all about. And you have to tell the whole story in three or four minutes! I have a company man friend named Sam Bailey who has been in the oilfield for about 40 years. Sam threw chain when he was a roughneck. I contacted him through email and asked if he could school me some on the art of chain throwing. He said he would be glad to help.
Sam didn't know what he was getting into with that agreement!
I worked and worked on that song emailing him probably 100 times asking questions. Some songs are easier to write than others. This one was hard!
I worked for about a year to finally get it like I wanted it. There was so much to throwing chain – it was hard to fit it all into a song! Sam graciously and patiently provided me with details of the ins and outs of throwing the chain.
The hard work in researching the art of chain throwing paid off! “Throwin’ The Chain” is one of the best songs on the new Cheater Pipe Tight CD. It is number 10 – give it a listen and see if you don’t agree! If you have ever thrown chain, this is YOUR SONG!
To Sam, Paul and Allan I will be forever grateful, and will never be able to repay their kindness!
Oilfield Cowboy Fracin' the Hole on 96.5 KECO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJkhNZC9hto
Sharing a one-bedroom apartment? I guess you could get extremely close. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Good tune; I would make one change; instead of “to cut down on dependency” I would say “to be free of dependency”, but what do I know; I’ve never wrote a song.
I just realized the song I heard and commented on was not the same as the song discussed in the story “Throwin Chain”, The song I listened to was “Boom or Bust and American Oil”.
That one is newer. I could not find it in public domain, so I linked to others by him on similar topics. The source article has a link to purchase the discussed song, but I wasn’t trying to make the thread an ad for him.
Old chain chunker here- haven’t set foot on a rig in almost 30 years, but chunkin’ chain is like riding a bicycle!
"That bleep ain't right"...Nelson
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