Salem, Oregon's
Running & Walking Club Site
Home of
Willamette Valley Road Runners (WVRR)
www.WVRoadrunners.org.

RUN, BILLY, RUN!  by Phyllis McCall

Bill McCall was born on March 28, 1950, and on March 26, 2000, we celebrated his 5TH birthday - many of you were there to share in the fun. It was a surprise party for Bill and boy was he surprised! He had no idea he had so many friends and relatives who cared! Part of the fun included Alan and Maria Yankus' band, The Infirmary (also including Jeff and Teresa Gebauer and Terry Schneider). As a tribute his friend, Alan wrote and played the following song for Bill. Alan obviously knows Bill well, and Bill especially loved the part about the watch he got as a kid from his parents. It was probably his most prized possession. He pestered his brother and sisters to time him as he ran various courses around the neighborhood to see if he could run them faster each time.

The song was sung to the tune of "Johnny Be Good"

In the town of Salem, west in Oregon
There lives a senior citizen that loves to run
Any kind of weather, sun or rain or sleet
You can see him running' in the parks and streets
People passin' by shake their heads and say
Look at crazy Billy, he's a running ' today

Chorus:

Run, run—run Billy run, run, run—run Billy run, run, run
Run Billy run, run, run
Run, run—Billy McCall

When Billy stared running' he was just a boy
He'd rather have runnin' shoes than any toy.
His mama and his daddy thought that it was fine
Even bought a watch so he could check his time.
By the time he grew up and became a man,
All his friends and family knew that Billy ran.

Chorus

Billy turned forty ten years ago
Everybody figured he'd be getting' slow
But when he kept a runnin' much to their surprise
They found out he was smokin' all the younger guys
Now that he is fifty all the runners know
When you run with Bill you best be ready to go.

One day Bill decided that he needed some help
'Cuz he was getting' tired running' by himself
He looked around and went and found a willin' wife
To be his runnin' partner for the rest of his life
Who would have thought that when she came along
Together they'd be runnin' Boston Marathon

Chorus (2x)

Lyrics by Alan Yankus (3/00)