Original song · Country · 4 minutes
A Hundred Watts and a Park to Park
From packing the go bag to breaking through Keith’s pileup—here’s a song for everyone who would rather be on the air, outside.
View lyrics
Verse 1
There’s a light in the ham shack before the break of day,
Antenna parts across the bench, coffee on the way.
Coax, connectors, battery—check ’em off my list,
Pack that go bag one more time; there’s nothing I can miss.
Got the radio riding shotgun, a park out past the pines,
And a whole world full of voices somewhere down the line.
Verse 2
Find a little patch of shade and stand that antenna tall,
Run the wires, hook ’em up, give that tuning knob a crawl.
Get the match down where I want it, find a frequency clear,
“CQ, CQ POTA!”—let ’em know that I am here.
Put a few good hunters in the log, then turn that dial around,
’Cause hunting other activators is the best fun I’ve found.
Chorus
With a hundred watts and a park to park,
I’m chasing distant voices till the woods get dark.
One hand on the tuning knob, one more call to try,
A little wire between the trees, reaching for the sky.
You can keep the city lights; I know where I belong—
Out here calling CQ, with the whole world singing along.
Verse 3
Now Keith’s already on the air—I chase him every day,
But that never-ending pileup’s standing in my way.
I tune him just a little clearer, let the loud ones roll,
Check I’m pushing all one hundred, take a breath and let it go.
“Whiskey Zero Mike Echo Sierra!”—then I wait a while…
When Keith comes back with my call sign, you ought to see me smile!
Keith Chorus
Through a hundred calls and a wall of sound,
I keep throwing out my call, hoping he’ll come around.
Then “You’re five-nine, park to park!” comes rolling through so clear—
That one exchange just made my day; that’s why I drove out here.
Put another in the logbook, lean back and crack a smile—
Getting through to Keith just made this whole activation worthwhile.
Bridge
First I saw that leaderboard and dreamed of number five,
Then every trip back to that park kept that bigger dream alive.
Hundreds of activations, thousands in the log,
Early mornings, summer heat, and calling through the fog.
Got my Kilo, kept on going, till one day there it was—
Number one beside my call, at the park I love so much.
Final Chorus
With a hundred watts and a park to park,
I’m chasing distant voices till the woods get dark.
Made it to the top, but there’s more out there to do—
Another park, another call, another friend coming through.
Pack the wire, load the truck, let those highway tires roll—
There’s an elusive park to park still waiting down the road.
Outro
Keith, if you can hear me, save a little room…
WØMES, park to park—
I’ll be calling you soon!
