More than 10 years after reaching No. 1 on country radio, “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck” remains a staple on airwaves and at Kip Moore’s live show. While it’s an arena-friendly country jam today, “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck” was an unlikely hit when released in 2011.
Videos by American Songwriter
In an interview with American Songwriter, Moore and frequent co-writer Dan Couch share the story behind the song.
“I still remember the day we wrote it,” Couch tells American Songwriter. “Loved it then and still do. For me, it never gets old hearing in it.”
The Meaning
The day Moore and Couch wrote “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck” they had already penned another song. Couch was packing up to head home to his wife and children when Moore started playing around on the guitar. Moore had been humming the melody and strumming what would become the opening blues riff to the song.
“He’d already shut the door and he’s listening to me on the other side of the door,” Moore recalls. “He just popped his head back in and said, Somethin’ ’bout a truck in a farmer’s field / After a few of those beers you got time to kill.
“I said, ‘Sit down.’ He called his wife, and being the cool person she always is and understanding, he said, ‘I’m gonna be a little minute’ and then we sat there for probably an hour. We weren’t trying to say anything prophetic. It was just a fun blues song.”
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Adds Couch: “It just felt right. And it did come pretty fast. We were both excited about it and called [GM/VP of Creative at Cornman Music] Nate Lowery up to the writers’ room and said, ‘Listen to this.’ Nate immediately fell in love with it and said, ‘The record needs this.’ So there was a lot of affirmation right away.”
A Chance at Radio
Moore says he and Couch felt like the song was a hit the day they wrote it. It was an unconventional radio song though, as “Somethin’ ’Bout a Truck” took over a minute to get to the chorus.
“I do remember saying, ‘There ain’t no way they’re gonna let us record it like this because there’s four verses before it goes to a chorus,'” Couch recalls. “You gotta get to get to the chorus in 30 seconds for a radio song. So we’re like, ‘We’re not going to change it. This is how it goes.’ And it worked.”
Adds Moore: “I remember saying, ‘If this ever gets a chance this is a big song,’ but the key word was chance. We knew that we took way too long in industry standards of getting to the chorus.”
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In 2012, Moore and Couch would celebrate their first career No. 1 song together with “Somethin’ ’Bout a Truck.” Couch describes the two-week No. 1 as “the gift that has continued to give.” He says people still call him from a bar when a cover band is playing it or they hear it on the radio.
Providing Levity
“Somethin’ ’Bout a Truck” remains a standard in Moore’s live show today, more than a decade after its release. The singer says the song hasn’t changed in meaning since the pair wrote it.
“‘Somethin’ ’Bout a Truck’ is just a light-hearted song that’s going to always provide levity,” Moore says. “There’s nothing that I’m saying in there that’s going to ever challenge my brain or I’m going to feel one way or the other about. It’s just a super catchy tune that we had a blast writing.”
Watch Moore and Couch discuss writing “Somethin’ ’Bout a Truck” below at the 18-minute mark.
(Photo by Jason Koerner/Getty Images)
