‘Sioux City’ Fred Hoping to Hit High Note in Iowa

ABC News’ Christine Byun Reports:  Presidential candidate Fred Thompson is trying to hit a high note and strike a chord with Iowa voters in the final act before the state’s Jan. 3 caucuses.

The former Tennessee senator, who has been trailing the GOP field in recent polls, is on the fifth day of a revamped 50-city bus tour of the Hawkeye State.

Thompson has been drawing sizable audiences and jumping into the crowds to shake hands and allow young supporters to climb on his lap for pictures.

He’s has been hitting the trail with fervor — but also with song.

In a Friday morning stop to a Sioux City coffeehouse, Thompson, a self-proclaimed John Wayne fan, broke into a rendition of the old Western tune, "Sioux City Sue."

When asked by ABC News if, on his third trip to Sioux City, he is starting to experience deja vu, Thompson laughed and said, "No, I just keep singing ‘Sioux City Sue, swap my horse and dog for you…’ you know, I’ve been singing that since I was a little boy. ‘Ain’t no girl as true as my sweet Sioux City Sue.’"

Then, another reporter asked him to hum the tune. The former actor broke into song.

"Sioux City Sue, Sioux City Sue… swap my horse and dog for you," Thompson warbled.

He then paused and said, "I think that’s about all America can stand today."

During his Iowa tour, Thompson also picked up the support of the former Iowa state chair for Congressman Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., who officially dropped out of the race to the White House Thursday.