VKB BAND. Hang On St. Christopher a song by Tom Waits

VKB Band’s version of Tom Waits’ “Hang On St. Christopher” is a diesel soaked rock-n-roll anthemic appeal dedicated to the patron saint of travelers from the point of view of the long haul truckers who keep the economy going by any means necessary.
The video features a panoply of hypnotic road visuals and gritty truck stop parking lot scenes shot on location in real time by Darren Wiseman, truck driver. These images are superimposed with funky live phone footage of a once-upon-a-time basement bar gig.
Waits’ lyrics are pure lingo poetry, by turns direct and obscure, conveying images as fleeting and fantastic as scenery speeding into the past, hyper-focused on perpetual motion and the mission ahead. The band’s interpretation is an American-made gritty mix of twangy banjo and gutsy guitar, driven by a steady thumping bass drum and ticking snare, clocking every second of the journey, steady as a heartbeat.
VKB “Hang On St. Christopher” from the album “Yesterday Is Here”
Music and lyrics by Tom Waits, Jalma Music, ASCAP
Available on Jaro Medien www.jaro.de
Band contact through JARO Medien: [e-mail]
VKB Band website: www.vkbband.com
Facebook: / vickikristinabarcelona
Tour dates: bnds.us/xx5807
Video by Amanda Homi and Rachelle Garniez, DMF Productions, Kingston NY
Road footage by Darren Wiseman, truck driver
VKB plays the music of Tom Waits. May 2025
3.5. D- Weilburg Lindenkult
4.5. D - Kanzem Weingut Dr. Frey
5.5. D - Pfullendorf Kultur in der Fabrik
7+8.5. CH - WädenswilTeater Ticino
9.5. A - Innsbruck Treibhaus
10.5. A - Saalfelden Nexus
11.5. A - Ardagger Stift Zoa Festival
14.5. D - Kassel Theaterstübchen
15.5. D - Butzbach JVA
16.5. D - Aschaffenburg Colos Saal
17.5. D - Paderborn Deelenhaus
18.5. D - Marienberg Jazz We Can
LYRICS
Hang on St. Christopher through the smoke and the oil
Buckle down the rumble seat and let the radiator boil
Got an overhead downshift and a two-dollar grill
Got an eighty-five cabin on an eighty-five hill
Hang on St. Christopher on the passenger side
Open it up tonight the devil can ride
Hang on St. Christopher with a barrelhouse dog
Kick me up Mount Baldy, throw me out in the fog
Tear a hole in the jackpot, drive a stake through his heart
Do a hundred on the grapevine, do a jump on the start
Hang on St. Christopher now don't let me go
Get me to Reno and bring it in low
Hang on St. Christopher with the hammer to the floor
Put a highball in the crank case, nail a crow to the door
Get a bottle for the jockey gimme a two-ninety-four
There's a seven-fifty Norton bustin' down January's door
Hang on St. Christopher on the passenger side
Open it up tonight the devil can ride
Hang on St. Christopher now don't let me go
Get me to Reno got to bring it in low
Put my baby on the flat car, got to burn down the caboose
Get 'em all jacked up on whiskey, then we'll turn the mad dog loose
Hang on St. Christopher on the passenger side
Open it up tonight the devil can ride