While the Greyhound Bus is by no means a glamorous way to travel, it nonetheless occupies a very important place in popular imagination, and the functional, inexpensive, and reliable means of getting from A to B has somehow attained some sort of romance – the idea of taking people to a new life; reconnecting loved ones otherwise separated by vast distance; travellers seeking adventure – all have used the Greyhound Bus. It’s a very real part of the lives of most Americans.
The characters in Jefferson Thomas’s song, ‘Greyhound Bus’, are drawn from his real life experiences, and he brings those interstate trips to life with colour and detail – and a lot of compassion too. He chronicles the life of the jail inmate; the prostitute; and the jaded kid who’d been chasing his destiny in the bright lights and big city. All come from disparate walks of life, but the one thing they have in common is their journey of discovery, taking place on the seat of a Greyhound Bus.
Jefferson Thomas directed the music video for ‘Greyhound Bus’, and in the clip he shows us lights of NYC, a down at heel road in the country, and the green metal of the prison cell. He allows us to see the allure of the prostitute, while at the same time showing us the danger she’s facing. There’s nothing that’s been sugarcoated, it’s all given to us and we’re left to draw our own conclusions about what happens next.
Check out Jefferson Thomas online on his official website.
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