Noteworthy for their three guitars lineup, the 'Truckers' are often associated with the Southern rock movement of the 70s and "jam" bands but are too cerebral and irreverent to sit squarely in either genre. Their lyrics often revolve around the working class trying to survive in economically-depressed small towns of the South.
Co-founded by Patterson Hood (son of bassist David Hood of the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section) and longtime friend and musical partner Mike Cooley in Athens, Georgia, in 1996. The two men had played in various other bands including Adam's House Cat which was chosen as a top ten Best Unsigned Band by a Musician contest in the late 1980s.
Together with a revolving group of musicians, Drive-By Truckers put out their first two albums, Gangstabilly (1998) and Pizza Deliverance (1999). Following their second release, the band embarked on a nationwide tour, resulting in a live album called Alabama Ass Whuppin' (released in 2000 by Second Heaven Records, re-released in 2002 by Terminus Records). They had an entertaining and informational website long before most bands had begun taking advantage of the internet as a promotional tool, and together with constant touring, they quickly developed a large and dedicated fan base both on and off-line.
After three years on the road a tight-knit group of musicians emerged and they began work on 2001's Southern Rock Opera. Southern Rock Opera is a double album executed as a song cycle. The album loosely uses the rise and literal fall of Lynyrd Skynyrd as a metaphor for the culture of the American South.
Self released on their own Soul Dump Records on September 12, 2001, Southern Rock Opera, quickly accumulated praise from fans and critics alike, including a four-star review in Rolling Stone. To take advantage of the positive reception, Southern Rock Opera was re-issued by Mercury and Lost Highway Records in July 2002. Soon after, Drive-By Truckers were named Band of the Year by No Depression.
Before they could record a follow-up to Southern Rock Opera, guitarist Rob Malone left and was replaced guitarist and songwriter, Jason Isbell. Originally from Greenhill, Alabama, during his five years with Drive-By Truckers, Isbell contributed a number of significant songs to the albums he worked on.
Due to changes at Lost Highway, the Truckers were released from their contract and signed with Austin-based record label New West, for the follow-up to Southern Rock Opera, 2003's Decoration Day. Like its predecessor, the album received broad praise from fans and critics alike. Although it isn't a concept album, the songs of Decoration Day explore a common theme of hard decisions in the context of marriage, incest, break-ups, revenge, murder, and suicide are major themes.
After years of producing and playing with Drive-By Truckers, bassist Earl Hicks left the band on December 22, 2003. Hicks was immediately replaced by studio bassist Shonna Tucker, then wife of guitarist Jason Isbell. Tucker had previously guested on Decoration Day playing upright bass on the Cooley-penned track, "Sounds Better in the Song".
In 2004, Drive-By Truckers released The Dirty South. Like Southern Rock Opera, The Dirty South was a concept album. The Dirty South further explored the mythology of the South, with songs focusing on Sam Phillips and the Sun Records crowd, John Henry and his hammer, and a three-song suite about Sheriff Buford Pusser.
After touring throughout 2004 and 2005, Drive-By Truckers found their way to the Fidelitorium Recording Studio in Forsyth County, North Carolina during late 2005. These recording sessions, once again produced by David Barbe, resulted in the band's seventh LP, A Blessing and a Curse.
Released on April 18, 2006, A Blessing and a Curse showcased Drive-By Truckers' ability to branch out into new territory, and can be seen as the band's attempt at shaking labeling by critics, detractors, fans, and followers, particularly the Southern rock label that has haunted the band since Southern Rock Opera. The album sounds less like Skynyrd, and more closely resembles the bare-bones British rock of the early 1970s such as The Rolling Stones and Faces. Tom Petty's influence on the band's sound is more prominent on this album as well.
In 2006, Drive-By Truckers reunited, both on-stage and on-record, with Athens-based pedal steel guitarist, John Neff. Neff first played with the band on their 1998 debut LP, Gangstabilly, and played pedal steel on three subsequent albums, 1999's Pizza Deliverance, and 2003's Decoration Day. Neff was featured heavily on the 2006 release, A Blessing and a Curse. During the next year, Neff began touring with the band as an unofficial sixth member.
On April 5, 2007 Jason Isbell announced that he was no longer a member of the band. The following day, Patterson Hood confirmed the break on the official site. In his letter to the fans, Hood described the parting of ways as "amicable" and expressed the hope that fans would continue to support Drive-By Truckers as well as Jason's solo efforts. In the same letter, Hood announced that John Neff would become a full-time member playing both guitar and pedal steel.
Shortly after Isbell's departure, on April 20, 2007, Patterson Hood announced via the band's website that a longtime friend of The Hood Family, Spooner Oldham, would be joining the band playing keyboard for a string of acoustic performances called The Dirt Underneath Tour.
Drive-By Truckers performed as backup musicians for Bettye LaVette's 2007 album, The Scene of the Crime. The album went to #1 on Billboard's Blues Chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Partly as a result of this collaboration, the Truckers went on to act as the backing band for Booker T Jones for his first recording in more than a decade. The album, Potato Hole, was well received by critics and it resulted in numerous shows together.
On January 22, 2008, the Drive-By Truckers' eighth album, Brighter Than Creation's Dark (named after a line in a Cooley song entitled "Checkout Time in Vegas"), was released in the US and went to #37 on the Billboard 200 album charts. Once again, David Barbe produced the album and artist Wes Freed provided the artwork. The album has nineteen tracks and features the first song contributions from bassist Shonna Tucker.
The band's ninth album "The Big To-Do" was issued on March 26, 2010 on ATO Records, the label founded by Dave Matthews and home to such artists as My Morning Jacket, Radiohead, The Whigs and Brendan Benson.
Ghost to Most
Drive-By Truckers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's a shame with all I've got to go between
I hope somebody's cause takes soon
It's getting hard to find a place a root can sink
Mama said a lot of things and be thankful was the one she never minded saying twice
Thanks to her I can think clear enough,
To be thankful that she died before tonight
With a swagger that can set the world at ease
Some believe it's God's own hand on the trigger
And the other dumping water in the streets
Talking tough is easy when it's other people's evil
And you're judging what they do or don't believe
It seems to me you'd have to have a hole you're own
To point a finger at somebody else's sheet
Baby every bone in my body's gone to jumping
Like they're gonna come through my skin
If they could get along without the rest of me, it wouldn't matter if they did
But skeletons ain't got nowhere to stick they're money
Nobody makes britches that size
And besides you're a ghost to most before they notice,
That you ever had a hair or a hide
I don't know how good it does a man,
To keep on telling him how good it is he's free
Free to wash his ghost down the drain,
And free for them to tell him there's no such a thing
The song A Ghost to Most was released by the southern rock band Drive-By Truckers in 2008. The lyrics of the song are a reflection on mortality, human fallibility, and the fleeting nature of fame. The first verse is about the singer's inability to grow sideburns, it is used as a metaphor for the singer feeling like he is missing out on something that he should have been able to achieve. He then goes on to talk about how hard it is to find a place to truly belong, and how his mother's death has affected him and allowed him to think more clearly about life.
The chorus speaks of saving everybody, a belief that some men have a role to play in the salvation of others, but the singer goes on to question the nature of judging others and how easy it is to talk tough when it concerns other people's wrongdoings. The second verse talks about the feeling that the singer has, how every bone in his body is jumping and he feels as if they are going to come out of his skin. He reflects on the idea of being a ghost to most, how people don't notice one's existence until it's too late.
Overall, the song explores the idea of mortality and the fleeting nature of fame. It questions ideas of judgment and salvation, and reflects on the idea of being an outsider in society.
Line by Line Meaning
I guess I'll never grow a side-burn
It's a lamentation about not being able to become someone he admires or idolizes.
It's a shame with all I've got to go between
It's a shame with all the options there are but I can't seem to find what I am looking for.
I hope somebody's cause takes soon
I hope someone else's purpose or movement can take over to create a change.
It's getting hard to find a place a root can sink
It's getting hard to find a place to fit in and belong.
Mama said a lot of things and be thankful was the one she never minded saying twice
The mother emphasized the importance of being grateful even if she said it frequently.
Thanks to her I can think clear enough,
The singer's mother helped him/her understand the importance of being thankful.
To be thankful that she died before tonight
The singer is thankful his/her mother didn't have to witness or experience a particular situation.
Saving everybody takes a man on a mission
Creating a change that benefits everyone requires a person with a goal and a purpose.
With a swagger that can set the world at ease
The person making a difference should have an aura or confidence that can calm others.
Some believe it's God's own hand on the trigger
Some people believe that God is responsible for the good or the bad happening in the world.
And the other dumping water in the streets
Instead of helping, some people can make things worse.
Talking tough is easy when it's other people's evil
It's easy to criticize others from the outside.
And you're judging what they do or don't believe
You are passing a judgment on their thoughts and ideas.
It seems to me you'd have to have a hole you're own
A person who is broken in their own way can find faults and cracks in others easily.
To point a finger at somebody else's sheet
To criticize or blame someone else for their actions or choices.
Baby every bone in my body's gone to jumping
The artist is feeling anxious and uneasy to the point of discomfort.
Like they're gonna come through my skin
The anxiety is intense and suffocating.
If they could get along without the rest of me, it wouldn't matter if they did
The singer's anxiety is overwhelming to the extent that they feel their body could do without their existence.
But skeletons ain't got nowhere to stick they're money
Monetary possessions don't matter after death because no one can take them along.
Nobody makes britches that size
Money or possessions can't buy everything.
And besides you're a ghost to most before they notice,
People don't pay attention to you until you are gone.
That you ever had a hair or a hide
People won't remember or care about you even after you're gone.
I don't know how good it does a man,
The singer is unsure how helpful it is to tell someone they are free.
To keep on telling him how good it is he's free
Being free is important, but the constant reminder of it can be somewhat pointless.
Free to wash his ghost down the drain,
Free to erase and forget oneself.
And free for them to tell him there's no such a thing
Free for others to deny what he believes in or hopes for.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Peermusic Publishing, WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: JOHN MICHAEL COOLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kyle Littleton
For me this is a truth about handling struggles on the inside and how it effects us on the outside. I lost a child and the pain of moving on and how torn I have been about putting one foot in front of the other. it's almost like one part of you is dead and the other is judging your self and everyone else. Cooley you're a true talent.
David Wurm
Hope you are doing ok, friend
zipy doda
I lost someone very special to me. That little boy turned a hard ass into a gentle soul. O miss him terribly
Chrissi Matusevics
this band is just blow you away amazing seen them live and just....WOW!!!!!!!
Princess-Caro
This is my favorite DBT song, Cooley songs are always the greatest.
Scott Gilbert
I agree ✌️
paul grim
It's brilliant!
CountryMusic52
My favorite song of all time.
fisty mopar
Cooley's magnum opus....
J.B. Beverley
This song saved my life.. Literally. I owe Cooley a debt of gratitude like none other.