Beginning with his “Home” single in 1990, Joe Diffie spent two decades as part of country music until he passed away in 2020. While we will always wish Diffie were still with us, these four songs make us miss him even more.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Third Rock From The Sun”
In 1994, Joe Diffie released “Third Rock From The Sun”. The song is the title track and debut single from Diffie’s fourth studio album. Written by Sterling Whipple, Tony Martin, and John Greenebaum, the song tells a sordid tale of how life always comes full circle.
“Third Rock From The Sun” says, “Cause and effect, chain of events / All of the chaos makes perfect sense / When you’re spinnin’ ’round, things come undone / Welcome to Earth, third rock from the sun.”
“Pickup Man”
Diffie follows “Third Rock From The Sun” with “Pickup Man“. One of his biggest hits, “Pickup Man” is written by Howard Perdew and Kerry Kurt Phillips. The song is about the allure men have when they drive pickup trucks.
The comedic tune says, “You can set my truck on fire and roll it down a hill / And I still wouldn’t trade it for a Coupe DeVille / I got an eight-foot bed that never has to be made / You know, if it weren’t for trucks we wouldn’t have tailgates / I met all my wives in traffic jams / There’s just something women like about a pickup man.”
“Pickup Man” became a four-week No. 1 hit for Diffie.
“Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox (If I Die)”
In 1993, Joe Diffie released “Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox (If I Die).” Written by Perdew and Phillips, along with Rick Blaylock, “Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox (If I Die)”
“Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox (If I Die)” says, “Well, I ain’t afraid of dying, it’s the thought of being dead / I wanna go on being me once my eulogy’s been read / Don’t spread my ashes out to sea, don’t lay me down to rest / You can put my mind at ease if you fill my last request / Prop me up beside the jukebox if I die / Lord, I wanna go to Heaven, but I don’t wanna go tonight / Fill my boots up with sand / Put a stiff drink in my hand / Prop me up beside the jukebox if I die.”
“Ships That Don’t Come In”
Known for more lighthearted songs, Diffie’s “Ships That Don’t Come In” is a bit of a departure for him. On his sophomore Regular Joe record, “Ships That Don’t Come In” was released as a single in 1992.
Written by Paul Nelson and Dave Gibson, “Ships That Don’t Come In” says, “So here’s to all the soldiers / Who have ever died in vain / The insane locked up in themselves / And the homeless down on Main / To those who stand on empty shores / And spit against the wind / And those who wait forever / For ships that don’t come in.”
“Ships That Don’t Come In” was almost a hit for The Oak Ridge Boys. Gibson says the group would have likely recorded the song, except for a line that says, “We bitch about a dollar / When there’s those without a dime.”
“Without a doubt, that line right there kept us from getting it cut by Alabama,” Gibson tells American Songwriter. “I pitched it to Tony Brown for the Oakridge Boys back in the day. We pitched it all over the place. They were afraid. Nobody had ever used that word in a country song.”
Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Pepsi’s Rock The South
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