The memory brought the whole scene to life in my head and the song pretty much wrote itself, giving shout-outs to Elvis and "Oh Susanna" in the process.
I met her at a carnival, by the Wall of Death She was laughing her head off, I was holding my breath I heard her say she likes whiskey, I had a small hip flask When I offered her a shot, she said, I thought you'd never ask
refrain: I knew she was wild, I didn't know she was crazy, too Didn't know she was dangerous or what she might do She's like an eighteen-wheeler chasing down the white line Says the guy can keep up to me, I'll show him a good time
She says she knows Elvis, says she knows where he lives Says it's not in Memphis, not anywhere you'd guess Says he told her she was high class, told her she could go far They had the chance to be real good friends, then she stole his car refrain
She didn't come from Alabama, banjo on her knee She doesn't know about coincidence or serendipity Says there's no such thing as fate, we're living wild and free There's no one you were meant to meet, except for her and me refrain
bridge: Sometimes late at night when the moon is high, I hear her crying in her sleep I just hold her close till the feeling goes and she's smiling back at me
She was Tennessee born and bred, living up in the hills If she hadn't joined the carnival, she'd be living there still Her daddy makes moonshine, her mama's in the stir Says she's got no problems, so long's I'm with her refrain