Tim O’Brien is offering a free download of The Ballad of Christopher Daniel Gay, a song he recently wrote and recorded, on his web site.

Gay’s tale was taken from the news headlines. He escaped from a South Carolina prison transport in mid-January, and evaded police over a five state manhunt, all in an attempt to visit his dying mother. In the process, he stole a pickup truck, a fully loaded Wal-Mart tractor trailer, and a tour bus belonging to country singer Crystal Gayle.

He was finally arrested on January 26 near the Daytona Speeday in Florida, after attending a race.

This story simply begged to be enclosed in a country song, and it seems that Tim wasted no time in capturing it for posterity. The Ballad of Christopher Daniel Gay is told in a musical style reminiscent of the Woody Guthrie folk ballads of the 1930s and 40s, and concludes with a tip of the hat to the world wide web.

The song can be heard at www.timobrien.net.