If dogs are man’s best friend, then trucks are humanity’s most trusted personal assistant. Where would a person be without their formidable, reliable truck that can offer a place for a quick nap, a motor to haul, a bed to carry and an entertainment system to sing along to on those long rides out on the highway?
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Due to their roles in so many people’s lives, trucks have gotten a lot of love in country music. From Buck Owens to Luke Bryan, trucks are cherished in those tracks that rely on three chords and the truth.
Below are the top 10 best songs about our four-wheeled helpers.
1. “Truck Drivin’ Man,” Buck Owens
Originally recorded in 1954 by Terry Fell, the song was made famous by country icon Buck Owens in 1965. Since then, the song has been covered countless times because of its clear message—a song about a song. Sings Owens over a click-clack beat and slide guitar,
I stopped at a roadhouse in Texas
It was a little place called Hamburger Dan’s
And I heard that old jukebox a playin’
A song about a truck drivin’ man
Pour me another cup of coffee
For it is the best in the land
I’ll put a nickel in the jukebox
And play The Truck Drivin’ Man
2. “Roll on (Eighteen Wheeler),” Alabama
Written by Dave Loggins (Kenny’s cousin), this song was released in early 1984 from the album, Roll On. The track hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Sings frontman Randy Owen with burly confidence,
You got it
Roll on highway, roll on along
Roll on, Daddy, ’til you get back home
Roll on family, roll on crew
Roll on, Mama, like I asked you to do
And roll on, eighteen-wheeler, roll on
Well, it’s Monday morning
He’s kissin’ Mama goodbye
He’s up and gone with the sun
Daddy drives an eighteen-wheeler
And he’s off on a Midwest run (you got it)
3. “We Rode In Trucks,” Luke Bryan
From Bryan’s debut album, I’ll Stay Me, this song describes country life: farms, religion and trucks. Accentuated by a bright fiddle, this song is as spiritual as it is entertainment. Sings Bryan, also known today as a judge on American Idol,
Down where I was born was heaven on earth
The Flint River washes that red Georgia dirt
The sun sets slow and the stars shine bright
We raised cotton, corn, a little cane, and kids
You either lived on a farm or wish you did
Jesus always walked close by our side
Where I grew up, we rode in trucks
There’s a lot about life we learned on the bus,
How to lie, how to fight, how to kiss, how to cuss
The closer we sat to the back, the smarter we got
We were poor, we were ugly, we were all best friends
White-eyed, baptized, and still wantin’ to sin
Thank God we get more than just one shot
Where I grew up, we rode in trucks
4. “Cruise,” Florida Georgia Line
Released in 2012, this acoustic-driven song describes summery infatuations, seeing that attractive person out your truck window and knowing you just want to be with them. The song, which hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, also earned a remix by the popular rapper Nelly. And the popular band sings,
She was sippin’ on southern and singin’ Marshall Tucker
We were falling in love in the sweet heart of summer
She hopped right up into the cab of my truck and said
“Fire it up, let’s go get this thing stuck”
Baby you’re a song
You make me wanna roll my windows down and cruise
Down a back road blowin’ stop signs through the middle
Every little farm town with you
In this brand new Chevy with a lift kit
Would look a hell lot better with you up in it
5. “East Bound and Down,” Jerry Reed
Written by Jerry Reed and Deena Kaye Rose for the soundtrack for the classic truck-centric Burt Reynolds film, Smokey and the Bandit, this song has Reeding sing about getting some illegal booze and trying to take it across state lines. All while madness ensues in the action film. The song is propulsive, energetic and even slap-stick, like the film itself. Sings Reed,
East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’
A-we gonna do what they say can’t be done
We’ve got a long way to go, and a short time to get there
I’m east bound, just watch ol’ “Bandit” run
Keep your foot hard on the pedal
Son, never mind them brakes
Let it all hang out ’cause we got a run to make
The boys are thirsty in Atlanta
And there’s beer in Texarkana
And we’ll bring it back no matter what it takes
6. “Pickup Man,” Joe Diffie
Released in 1994, this song is all about the allure and draw of a guy with a pickup truck. Women just love it, Diffie sings. The song, which appeared on his record, Third Rock from the Sun, hits all the classic checkmarks: fiddle, drawl, twang and the loving ode to the four-wheel. Sings Diffie,
When I turned 16, I saved a few hundred bucks
My first car was a Pickup Truck
I was cruisin’ the town and the first girl I seen
Was Bobbie Jo Gentry, the homecoming queen
She flagged me down and climbed up in the cab, and said
“I never knew you were a Pickup Man!”
You can set my truck on fire, roll it down a hill
But 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
7. “Truck Yeah,” Tim McGraw
It doesn’t get more straightforward than this. In this 2012 song, McGraw highlights the muscular quality of the four-by-four, singing,
Got Lil’ Wayne pumpin’ on my iPod
Thumpin’ on the subs in the back of my crew cab
Redneck rockin’ like a Rockstar
Sling a lil’ mud off the back, we can do that
Friday night football, Saturday last call, Sunday hallelujah
If you like it up loud and you’re hillbilly proud
Then you know what I’m talking about
Let me hear you say, truck yeah
I wanna get it jacked up, yeah
Let’s crank it on up, yeah
With a little bit of luck I can find me a girl with a truck, yeah
We can love it on up, yeah
‘Til the sun comes up, yeah
And if you think this life I love is a little too country
Truck yeah
8. “I Drive Your Truck,” Lee Brice
Switching gears, so to speak, this song is a more melancholic, thoughtful ode to a family member through the lens of mutual love for trucks. Remembering his brother who was lost at war, a sibling goes into his truck and sees what was left behind. And as a move of respect, the young brother drives his older brother’s truck in remembrance. Sings Brice,
89 cents in the ashtray
Half empty bottle of Gatorade
Rollin’ in the floorboard
That dirty Braves cap on the dash
Dog tags hangin’ from the rearview
Old Skoal can and cowboy boots
And a “Go Army” shirt folded in the back
This thing burns gas like crazy
But that’s all right
People got their ways of copin’
Oh, and I’ve got mine
I drive your truck
I roll every window down
And I burn up
Every back road in this town
I find a field, I tear it up
‘Til all the pain’s a cloud of dust
Yes, sometimes, I drive your truck
9. “Boy Gets a Truck,” Keith Urban
Opening almost like a U2 song, country star Keith Urban talks about that moment when someone gets their first pickup. It’s a right of passage, an important moment in the life span of any country child. Urban sums it up well, singing in this 2016 track,
It ain’t a story as old as time
Just as old as when they first rolled off the assembly line
Everybody knows how it goes
Once upon a time, four wheels rolled and a
Boy gets a truck, truck gets a girl
Girl gets a midnight feeling he’s the one, one night turns to love
Love turns into one knee down, down payment on a three bedroom house
Filled with the sound of little feet
Then you blink and he’s asking for the keys to pick her up
Boy gets a truck
10. “Mud on the Tires,” Brad Paisley
From the 2003 album of the same name by Paisley, this title song is all about finding that special secluded place with your lover and enjoying your time together. Sings Paisley,
I’ve got some big news
The bank finally came through
And I’m holdin’ the keys to a brand new Chevrolet
Have you been outside, it sure is a nice night
How about a little test drive
Down by the lake?
There’s a place I know about where the dirt road runs out
And we can try out the four-wheel drive
Come on now what do you say
Girl, I can hardly wait to get a little mud on the tires.
Photo by Terry Wyatt/WireImage
