“Even though I pay me road tax they treat me like a clown”

Stewart Topp, AA’s Patrolman of the Year, has taken Ireland’s famous ‘Pothole Song’ and married it to bunch of roads-in-disrepair – and clown – images. The iPayRoadTax fake ‘road tax’ roundel has been placed into the video. It’s slightly out of the original cycling context of the logo but, hey, it gets the message out there to non-cyclists, so what the hell.

The Pothole Song was written and performed by Irish folk singer Richie Kavanagh. The lyrics mention ‘road tax’. As the song is set in Ireland’s it could be accurate about Ireland’s way of paying for roads? Nope. Irish roads are paid for out of general taxation, just like in the UK. Ireland’s version of car tax is ‘motor tax’. It’s not a ‘graduated vehicle excise duty’, based on CO2 emissions, it’s based on engine size.

POT HOLE SONG
(Richie) Heres a little song about the holiest country in all the world  ”Holy Ireland”  Is’aint  that right Johnny?
(Johnny) ”Thats Right Thats The Truth” you start an I’ll join in  
(Richie) Right Johnny here we go
 
Now they call us holy Ireland great big potholes everywhere

If your going out a driving make sure and bring the spare

Ah me little back suspension  goes bobbing up and down

Even though I pay me road tax the treat me like a clown

There’s big ones there’s little ones there’s some a duck could swim

And if you hit a bad one you’ll soon be on the rim  

You can go and get your puncher fix’ed there’s no one from to claim

You can ask your county counselor but he wont take the blame    
So they call us holy Ireland great big potholes everywhere

If your going out a driving make sure and bring the spare

Ah me little back suspension  goes bobbing up and down

Even though I pay me road tax the treat me like a clown

Etc etc