Cash, Johnny - Monteagle Mountain Lyrics






There's a stretch of Highway on Interstate 24 between Nashville and Chattanooga
That's claimed many trucker's life
And your life is in your hands when you start down that long steep grade
On Monteagle Mountain

I just rolled out of Nashville in my big rig headin' south
My eyes are on fire feels like cotton in my mouth
My whole body's achin' but I got to make them big wheels roll
I got to be in Florida by tomorrow morning with a full heavy load

I got to get passed Atlanta as soon as I can tonight
I got to try to dodge the scales and stay out of Smoky's sight
But there's one big thing standin' like a nightmare in my way
I got to top Monteagle Mountain a little bit later today

Goin' down Monteagle Mountain on I-24
It's hell for a trucker when the devil's at your door
He'll tempt you and tell you come on let her roll
Cause the mountain wants your rig and trucker I want your soul

When I started down Monteagle the brakes just wouldn't hold
I knew I was in trouble and bout to lose control
The runaway ramp was waitin' I saw the warnin' sign
I said Lord help me make it have mercy on this soul of mine

Well I ploughed into that runaway ramp and I could feel that big truck groan
My life flashed right before my eyes and for a minute I thought I was gone
But when the smoke cleared I thanked God that I was still alive
Cause when there's a runaway on Monteagle some truckers don't survive

Goin' down Monteagle Mountain on I-24
It's hell for a trucker when the devil's at your door
He'll tempt you and tell you come on let her roll
Cause the mountain wants your rig and trucker I want your soul

Yeah many a good man had lost his life on Monteagle Mountain it's a long steep grade
Many a good hard workin' boy gone over the side watch out for Monteagle





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Cash, Johnny Monteagle Mountain Comments
  1. G.... A....

    since they added that break cooling station it cut down on lot of wrecks

  2. M.... ....

    Goin down this sumbitch tomorrow

  3. B.... ....

    Back in early 90s I had to go down that hill
    with out a Jake brake ... That hill will make
    your ass hole pucker a little . . . .

  4. 1.... X....

    Been down hundreds of times. On top I would pack with some good tabacco I got in Paducah Kentucky and lite pipe set gear in 6th with Jakes set. Then head down. By the time my pipe was done in would be at bottom.

  5. B.... M....

    My father was a trucker in the early 50's ine steady run he had was with Wheeling-NY and a remark he said to me was there's no worse feeling than to go for the brakes on a downgrade and realize that you've got no air.

  6. J.... C....

    My father was killed in 1962 going down that mountain...

  7. R.... B....

    Trucked up and down Monteagle meantime .

  8. O.... F....

    0:40 Moccasin Bend is terrible. I live in Chattanooga, travel out to south Pittsburgh, then down to Stevenson Al for trainspotting, and moccasin bend always gets me on the way back, if I take the interstate. It’s always backed up from Nickajack all the way into Chattanooga, right there at the 24, 27 split.

  9. S.... D....

    I like to go down backwards with a set of double tankers. Git r done!!

  10. k.... ....

    Just went down it at night in the pouring rain first time going down something like that I'm new to truck driving

    k.... ....

    Kill... Always err on the side of caution. Whether for weather, ice, backing in, or going around a bend. Not to mention hills like Monteagle, etc, and you'll be just fine. You can lose a few minutes, or lose your life. Take your pick. (Brian in Canada. 39 yrs heavy hauller)

    k.... ....

    @Calmargarita oh yeah I went down at 35 mph using the Jake break I wasn't taking any chances

  11. J.... R....

    LOVE this record.. One of the best truck songs EVER

  12. A.... S....

    Gold ol Johnny Cash.. Never gets old.

  13. l.... ....

    Hmmm Shoulda driven it before the state n feds put 24 thru!

  14. W.... W....

    My uncle came down that mountain with a load of hogs and no air brakes. Missed a gear and was free wheeling half way down. Those wheels were on fire at the bottom when he finally got stopped. He said it was nothing but his hair was gray from that time on.

  15. P.... S....

    Believe in god no mountain is to big boys keep truck in hammer down bless

  16. D.... N....

    Used to roll over Monteagle when heading to Hotlanta. Retired in 2012, called it quits after 37 years in the saddle. It got a lot better when they added the third lane and also the second run off ramp, before that it was a S.O.B !!! It's still a SOB if you don't respect it. You could stop at the west bound rest area and walk over to the edge and see the trucks that had gone off. Best part of it was the mom & pop restaurant, they're gone now. It became a chineese restaurant and they also have great food But what used to amaze me was the drivers who were in such a hurry, they wouldn't stop on top at the brake check area. Sheesh I used to wait twenty minutes or so on top after taking care of business so that the idiot who didn't stop would be down or in the run off ramp, or sitting on the side with hot brakes or most likely at the bottom with a bear behind them.

  17. W.... D....

    I hate going over Monteagle. If I have to go to Chattanooga, I'll cut down through Huntsville, and take 72 back over to South Pittsburgh and Jasper.

  18. L.... B....

    This makes me think about The Legend by Jerry Reed

  19. K.... F....

    My grandfather lost his brakes going down it back in the fifties. He made it though. Now I run down it every once in a while.

  20. R.... C....

    Nice that they redid mounteagle it was bad. It still is but it's not as steep thank god

  21. B.... S....

    51 people never hit the runaway ramp. God Bless all the truckers

  22. R.... C....

    Life lost a few angels

  23. l.... t....

    these new age drivers( wanna be truckers) will never know the true life of trucking ...oh how miss those days

  24. L.... L....

    Beautifully done??🇱🇷✝️👏👍🌹🌹🌹❤️❤️💓💗

  25. T.... M....

    Monteagle and other steep grades aren't really a big deal for modern trucks, but I still see trucks in the woods or in the runaway ramps. Rookies I guess.

  26. G.... C....

    The old road with old equipment. It could catch you qiick.

  27. D.... X....

    She’s a steep son of a b!%€h

  28. F.... S....

    Frederick has

  29. J.... H....

    Monteagle is nothing compared to the 10% grades on Alternate 14 in Wyoming. Ran this from Montana to Lovel empty. Would not recommend taking more than 25,000 across it. Highly experienced truckers only! https://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/6542-alternate-u-s-highway-14.html

  30. T.... C....

    Been over monteagle many times, if in dought about your Breaks,Better stop at the top an adjust them B 4 you start down the mountain, grossing 80 grand that Jake Brake comes in handy.

  31. E.... S....

    You know when your into something steep and windy when you catch glimpses of wreckers and truck shops and parts when you look down to the town below!! Look over the sides of it and see axles and stuff laying around. LOL

  32. j.... b....

    Love this classic hit song.

  33. w.... h....

    i love this song

  34. T.... C....

    been over monteagle many times

  35. B.... J....

    Been up and down monteagle driving a big truck more times than I can count. I think black Mt in NC going east on I 40 is worse though. It's steeper

  36. M.... C....

    Remember the days boys when we would hammer down and chow the pills man I miss that kiss that good bye damit

  37. G.... A....

    Loud pipes save lives.

  38. N.... F....

    You can't dodge the scales anymore Smokies got mobile scales these days.

    N.... F....

    Miss the old days

  39. f.... ....

    Sorry Johnny, but mont eagle is a pimple on a rats ass compared to the Rockies. It's not a bad hill. It's just claimed many an idiot.

  40. J.... B....

    I got stopped going 84MPH coming of that rock.

  41. a.... k....

    That's 6% grade on monteagle I've been over many times, but this week I loaded in Arizona in copper mine and had to go down three 10% grades!

  42. D.... D....

    I've burned that mountain down goin up and down every time, haulin ass.

  43. H.... M....

    I drove over that mountain many many times going either way.

  44. K.... F....

    It's never the fall... it's that sudden stop at the bottom.

  45. M.... 4....

    I'm just in a 4 wheeler, but I still try to keep a eye on the rigs in case they have to make a mad dash from right to the left lanes to hit one of the two run away ramps on the left side of the grade.

  46. C.... L....

    Yea my Great Uncle and Aunt was going down the mountain and he missed a gear. He hollard hold on we gone. She climbed down onto the floor of the truck and hide till they hit the bottom wide ass open

  47. C.... H....

    Great song---seem's I lived it--Skaggs Escort with Ligon Heavy Hauler's--1968-

  48. S.... B....

    I ran that road several times. I'd pick up in Nashville and head to A town. I knew the Con didn't care that I'd be a day early but my dispatcher hated that I'd grab my empty and hit the stop. And have The day to screw around. The next day drive to my next pick-up and hit the road. They had me on a continuous loop so I got used to the route I took.

  49. R.... H....

    This trucker has been up and down monteagle mountain and that pass it's everything this song says i had white knuckles when i got to the bottom north of Chattanooga Tennessee on interstate 24

  50. j.... s....

    I used to come off Mt Eagle. Stick in 8th gear turn on the Jake brake.
    Letter go.

    j.... s....

    Joe Smith hell yeah brother !

  51. B.... W....

    24 is a piece of cake compared to the old truck route hwy 41 that runs parallel.

    B.... W....

    @Wendell Stafford I'd take it, nothing scares me no more, i love challenges cause it's a thrill for me 😁,I'm passing mt eagle rite now.

    B.... W....

    @B- trucker when a trucker says nothing scares me, I give them 40 acres and let them go.

    B.... W....

    @Wendell Stafford lol,can t be worse then the back roads in Pennsylvania I been in ,down steep mountains with turn after turn 😁👍

    B.... W....

    @B- trucker ever drove Hwy 22 west of Altoona heading towards Pissburg. There's a doozy of a hill there with 9% grade.

    B.... W....

    @Wendell Stafford yea it's been a few Years I haven't been that way,but yea Pennsylvania has some bad ones.

  52. R.... B....

    yup... four times a week ;)

  53. P.... P....

    Mount eagle is a hill not a mountain drive over that hill for 30 some years it don't pan out to the one in California and Oregon them are mountains

    P.... P....

    Paul Paulk it’s called monteagle mountain, not monteagle hill, and that’s on
    Y your opinion

  54. J.... R....

    LOVE the songs about legendary roads..

  55. Z.... C....

    Just listened to this as I went down Monteagle Mountain

  56. O.... L....

    This road used to be a lot more dangerous before they redid it, if anyone here is old enough to remember how it was back then.

  57. c.... 1....

    I don’t know much about this mountain but deadmans pass in Oregon is a 6 mile 6 percent grade. It spooks me out sometimes when I’m running a heavy load

  58. H.... t....

    I go over it twice a day grossing almost 80,000 every time. Just another day at the office. Just remember the words from my grandfather "you can go down a hundred times slow but only once too fast."

    H.... t....

    My dad just told me that 2 days ago going down the grape vine in California

    H.... t....

    @YeahNo101 ? 3 lanes.

    H.... t....

    Go easy trucker.
    First time I heard of Monteagle was he lost a gear he reached for the brakes, found he had no air.
    Scary thing

    H.... t....

    Im about to go down mounting on 24

    H.... t....

    If i remember correctly it's only 6% grade. I could sometimes go up it faster than I cared too come down going East or West. 🤣

  59. 4.... P....

    Engine braking really helps when going down that stretch. I’ve driven that road a few times. Just gotta take it easy and not drive like a twit...

  60. M.... O....

    That ain't nothing Try Atigun Pass in Alaska

  61. a.... G....

    had my windshield wipers go out on the old Freightliner made it to the top tide rope around the drivers wiper through passenger and driver side window and came down the mountain with a fist full of rope moving it back and forth man that old Freightliner Classic sure did try to take my life a few times but I still miss her

  62. D.... M....

    Double lanes at top for trucks to stop get your thinking right before you go ...

  63. D.... M....

    I had NO JAKE ...cam shifted or something went but I keep driving cause I dint Wana give up truck .... 45,000 on and no jake brake it wasent working YEA MY BREAKS WER SMOKING I started out slow but ....I'll put it to ya this way guys take for granted the Jake .....

  64. t.... ....

    Travel down that highway once a year

  65. G.... F....

    My Mother laughed when I told her about coming down I-24 (before it was straightened out) and brakes were gone on the truck by the time we got down to the bottom. She road with my Dad back in the 40's on old US 41 across Monteagle in a truck when they didn't have brakes on the trailers.

  66. M.... B....

    Never would have thought, seems like nothing compared to other gaps...

  67. j.... f....

    Back in the day it was US 41 before 24. It's a lot tammer now but you better respect it.

    j.... f....

    In Australia Adelaide got devils elbow n in the old days she get anybody that didn't respect her mighty grade n 90 bend ,even my dad rolled his old Leyland car carrier when brakes were gone before he had to go down her so he slapped her on her side says something if u think luck get u through, hwy changed now so u can miss that crazy stretch oh she's still there but Princess hwy lot safer, thank god , but the most steepest hill before Brisbane called Cunningham's gap ,I been up n down a few times going through Queensland , it properly stands with this mountain road to be respected ,safe driving brothers late load better than no load pigmypete64

  68. T.... E....

    Drove in my "four wheeler" on Monteagle June 12. Even a car wants to go fast and you have to ride the brakes some, I cannot imagine trying to control a big rig down that 6 percent grade. I see US 64 is also routed over this stretch of I-24 and the westbound lanes are far from the eastbound lanes on a curvier stretch of road (even my car was struggling going up on WB side), Is this the original route for US 64 and later I-24 before the eastbound lanes on the other side of the mountain? Word of warning to those that never have been that way, the runaway ramps are on the LEFT side of the highway, not the right side like most mountain grades. Fancy Gap on I-77, Old Fort Mountain on I-40 in NC and Sams Gap on I-26/US 23 at the NC/TN state line is pretty brutal too.

    T.... E....

    Done everything from 6% up to 9% and survived.

    T.... E....

    Know what gear to be in before going down. Turn that jake on and let engine handle it. Something this school mills like swift don't teach drivers today

    T.... E....

    Carter Buchanan. Up home in Southern Penna, there is a place called the Buck. 12 percent grade with a traffic signal at the bottom.
    Like riding in a roller coaster coming off the top

    T.... E....

    Joshua Stevens trying having to go down it grossing 120000 in a truck that dont have jakes

  69. P.... ....

    came down Mont eagle with a four horse doily  lost my brakes from a blown line never been so scared in my life

  70. M.... M....

    Just another day at the office.

  71. K.... R....

    My dad works there see it every day

  72. J.... S....

    My grandmother's and many relatives home.

  73. z.... ....

    I work at a hotel on Monteagle Mountain. Beautiful place.

  74. L.... C....

    Born and raised on the top of that rock, cleaned up many a truck wreck and lost a couple of good friends to that mountain!

  75. G.... ....

    The road as all of you know it is really not bad but the road that it replaced was a certified SOB! It was a killer!. I'm retired now but I ran all of them. Back in those days it was as bad as anything on the left coast.

    G.... ....

    I would like to be able to talk to every driver who has been killed on the road you say is not that bad because I would bet most of the had sad " that ant no mountain" I have been driving for 40 years and came over that mountain driving at 15yrs and grossing 76,000 lbs with my uncle on the right side teaching me respect for this hill that has claimed so many lives. The guys who came from the west thought it was just a hill and when they got in trouble it was to late to save it.

    G.... ....

    I like that you reference the west coast as "left" coast. Only a 'timer would. 39 yrs heavy haul up to 13 axle steering rear. 175,000# loads been on all of them, too. A healthy respect and taking the cautious attitude with me keeps me safe and sound. Currently in the oil patch in northern Alberta constantly pulling super B trains at 140,000. Good barbeque up top there at Monteagle, too.

  76. G.... L....

    Heard about its reputation, so stopped at the top and asked if it were dangerous. Told ,'No, it's down at the bottom they all kill thereselves.'

  77. R.... G....

    One of the easiest grades I have been on. I usually drive the NorthWest areas, and have been on some 8 to 10% grades in the back roads across the rockies and cascades. As long as you don't try and cowboy it down the mountains, you should hardly ever have a problem

    R.... G....

    Monteagle is a piece of cake if you're careful.. You want a white-knuckle grade ride go up on the Crowsnest Highway up in British Columbia

    R.... G....

    Ron Garcia the new Mont eagle is not the same one Mr cash is referring to

    R.... G....

    True.. It is not old hwy 41

    R.... G....

    Anyone been towards the west coast knows how to take a mountain. I use to run heavy on the Rockies but now go from Nashville to Atlanta and back every day. It's a breeze compared to what I had to deal with out there

    R.... G....

    Worst I seen was those rabbit trail back roads in West Virginia,

  78. d.... ....

    I drive up and down Monteagle twice a week. It's not too bad as long as you're careful. Just give the trucks plenty of space.

    d.... ....

    damnbacon88 i live in monteagle 😁 i love my town so much it has so mush history

    d.... ....

    the road you drive up and down now is straight and wide compared to 20 yrs ago. and now on the west bound side you get a second chance with 2 run away ramps. 20 yrs ago there was one and it was as you came out of a curve and if you made the curve still on your wheels you had that one chance.

    d.... ....

    Your right driver it was bad in the 80's every time i came though there was a wreck

  79. J.... J....

    lived n altamont for 13 yrs and owned a wrecker service. what problems we still had there with wrecks.

  80. S.... K....

    When this song was wrote mounteagle was a deathtrap but they have since changed it. Even at 80k gross weight its a joke now you can just coast down in top gear without a Jake.

  81. c.... ....

    I recently bought a school bus in Todd County Ky. Coming back over and down Monteagle was... an experience. Makes these songs even more meaningful.

  82. b.... ....

    THE MOST HORRIBLEST MOUNTAIN AND THE FIRST I'VE EVER DROVE ON OR DOWN!!! LOL I WAS SOOOOO ScARED IN A 4x4 blazer at the end of Jan back in 2007!!! OMG I WAS SCARED! I never left out of Illinois and Indiana before and only seeing Michigan a handful of times to make this run all by myself to pick up my friend and her kids to bring them back home from her cousins!!! THANK GOD FOR MY BROTHER IN LAW WHO IS A TRUCKER!!! HE actually gave me the directions to take this route and I COULD KILL HIM FOR THIS LOL At same time I thank him because it WAS very pretty BUT now I have that fear of falling off the road EVER SINCE THIS DAY LOL I think he personally took me that woute to site see it because he knew I'd never been know where before and because he knew how much I HATED the American Eagle Roller Coaster at six flags in Chicago here!!!

  83. W.... S....

    Monteagle Mountain features a 4-6% grade, which is bad for truckers, and not so good for us four-wheelers either.

    W.... S....

    I went down it several times back in the 80's and never had a problem. There used to be a 76 truck stop on top that I would always stop and eat and before I hit the road I would always adjust my brakes.

  84. T.... O....

    I love the runaway truck lanes.

  85. R.... D....

    Written by Richard McGibony and Published by McGibony Publishing, BMI contact: Ron Wheeler 407-232 4757

  86. b.... ....

    If anyone would like that route coming from Alabama, I would be glad to give it to you.....comes out in Suwanee.

    b.... ....

    please reply with route, that is one mtn that needs respect.

    b.... ....

    Isn't the the one that passes through Sherwood?

    b.... ....

    bonnilovesjc i live in monteagle lol

  87. b.... ....

    I don't even know how the police would even attempt to stop someone speeding down the mountain.  Furthermore, I don't know how anyone can Help speeding down the mountain!!

    b.... ....

    They don't TRY to catch 'em. They just wait as the bottom of the hill and pick up the pieces.

  88. b.... ....

    I'm not a trucker, but I think I would feel safer going down that grade in a big truck.  I have found an alternative route back to Alabama, even if it is back roads....I feel safer!

    b.... ....

    It's also a quicker way to get to Atlanta and Georgia in general from i-40. Still running through Monteagle Mountain, with big trucks flashing their emergency blinkers all around...not for the timid.

  89. U.... ....

    I drove over Monteagle about 2 months ago. The westbound side isn't too bad, it's the eastbound side that's the killer. I've never seen a hill with three runoff ramps before.

  90. t.... ....

    have to go that way every time I visit my family or head to Chattanooga. It sucks! Rarely any cops except when there's half a dozen of them on the big roll down the hill risking everyone's necks to meet their quotas...

  91. B.... M....

    My family has been living up there for well over 150 years. It is much better now than it was years ago. First time I brought my wife and kids down she held on to the dashboard for dear life. My uncle used to drive a truck wrecker with I believe one of the Laines out of Monteagle. He would tell some stories about the accidents on highway.

  92. D.... H....

    This mountain ain't no joke! I have come close to dying several times heading down Monteagle Mountain... I can imagine truckers having to wear a decent pair of Depends especially in crappy weather!

  93. R.... J....

    we just went down that road. Great area and beautiful sights.

  94. k.... k....

    what album is this song on. i cant find it on itunes

  95. J.... D....

    Ten years ago on a cold dark night... XD

  96. M.... ....

    I believe that the downgrade should be levelled with a large dozer to have a safer descent.

  97. G.... ....

    I went down this mountain yesterday.

  98. R.... D....

    This Is Richard McGibony's song he wrote for Johnny Cash and is in his Publishing company- McGibony Publishing, BMI and was on The Mercury Records label. It has been re-recorded by Jordan Carter on R&R MUSIC RECORDINGS. Glad you have done this with John's recording - There was a SRu copyright hang-up when Jordan tried to get permission to use any part of the Johnny Cash recording by John Carter Cash. I am glad you did. I know for a fact John always wanted it to be done as a video.