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.
Never Gonna Change
Drive-By Truckers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They're riding on the avenue and probably coming after you and they all look mean and strong.
Mean and strong like liquor.
Mean and strong like fear.
Strong like the people from South Alabama and mean like the people from here.
Take it from me We ain't never gonna change.
Daddy used to empty out his shotgun shells and fill 'em full of black-eyed peas.
There ain't much traffic on the highway. There ain't much traffic on the lake.
The ATF and the ABI got everything they could take.
Take it from me They didn't take it from me.
We ain't never gonna change.
We ain't doin' nothin' wrong.
We ain't never gonna change
So shut your mouth and play along.
I thought about going in the army. I thought about going overseas.
I wouldn't have trouble with a piss test; only problem is my bad left knee.
My brother got picked up at Parker's, got him a ride in a new Crown Vic.
They said that he was movin' on a federal level but they couldn't really make it stick.
Take it from me
We ain't never gonna change.
We ain't doin' nothin' wrong.
We ain't never gonna change
So shut your mouth and play along.
You can throw me in the Colbert County jailhouse.
You can throw me off the Wilson Dam
But there ain't much difference in the man I wanna be and the man I really am.
We ain't never gonna change.
The song 'Never Gonna Change' by the Drive-By Truckers, is a brooding, contemplative track that portrays the difficulties and complexities of living as an outlaw in the American South. The lyrics describe the singer's life in a small Southern town, where people are mean and strong and where the struggle of survival is always around the corner. The singer describes how people in his town must always be on guard, living in constant fear of those who might come after them. This is particularly true for women, who are advised to avoid places where they don't belong, to avoid the possibility of danger.
The lyrics also speak to the theme of never being able to escape one's past. The singer's father once filled shotgun shells with black-eyed peas, a sign of his intention to protect himself and his family against anyone who intended harm. The singer himself has considered joining the army or leaving the town altogether, but as the refrain reminds us, "we ain't never gonna change." Despite the singer's best efforts to move on, he is ultimately bound by his past and the people and events that shaped him.
In particular, the song's emphasis on the character of the people in the South Alabama region is particularly noteworthy. The strength and mean spirits of these people are omnipresent throughout the song, suggesting that their character is both a source of pride and a hindrance to progress.
Line by Line Meaning
Let this be a lesson to you girl: Don't come around where you know you don't belong.
Stay away from places where you'll be unwelcome.
They're riding on the avenue and probably coming after you and they all look mean and strong.
There are menacing people out there with a tough exterior.
Mean and strong like liquor.
They are intimidating like a strong drink.
Mean and strong like fear.
They are scary and unnerving to be around.
Strong like the people from South Alabama and mean like the people from here.
They are as tough as people from South Alabama and as unfriendly as locals.
Take it from me We ain't never gonna change.
Believe me when I say we will never be different.
Daddy used to empty out his shotgun shells and fill 'em full of black-eyed peas.
My dad used to replace the bullets in his shotgun with beans as a warning.
He'd aim real low and tear out your ankles or rip right through your knees.
He'd aim at your lower body to injure you.
There ain't much traffic on the highway. There ain't much traffic on the lake.
There aren't many people around.
The ATF and the ABI got everything they could take.
The authorities took everything they could.
Take it from me They didn't take it from me.
I'm telling you they couldn't take anything from me.
We ain't doin' nothin' wrong.
We are not acting inappropriately.
So shut your mouth and play along.
Don't speak up and just go with the flow.
I thought about going in the army. I thought about going overseas.
I considered joining the military and being deployed abroad.
I wouldn't have trouble with a piss test; only problem is my bad left knee.
I don't have any issues with drug tests, but I can't join because of my knee injury.
My brother got picked up at Parker's, got him a ride in a new Crown Vic.
My brother got arrested but was given a fancy police car ride.
They said that he was movin' on a federal level but they couldn't really make it stick.
They accused him of a federal crime, but couldn't prove it.
You can throw me in the Colbert County jailhouse.
I can end up in jail.
You can throw me off the Wilson Dam
You can throw me off a dam.
But there ain't much difference in the man I wanna be and the man I really am.
I am who I am and won't change.
We ain't never gonna change.
We will always stay the same.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Jason Isbell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
mississippi-halfstep
He played it in Savannah at the Savannah Music Festival and I danced like it was a truckers show I never saw him with them.
I had a run in with the CNT recently. I was arrested for marijuana, by some arrogant cop who claimed he could arrest me for DUI less safe (you know without a field sobriety test just on a power trip over this plant in my car), the CNT visited me after that.
I played in a band with someone many years ago who stole pain pills from a pharmacy. And in Alabama they are motherfuckers give us three names and you're free. And my drummer was one of those names of the narcs, and I know the names come up in court.
So I pretended like I would help them, they said "it's just a number your name is out of it" and I saw the integrity of the man who would make it go away. I'll pay the fucking fine, I'll pass every drug test. But I would never cooperate with them after I saw my friend's life ruined for being a middle man. I won't ever stop smoking weed, and if that's a problem I'll leave this state. I won't drive with it anymore, apparently they can't search your car if they smell it burnt or unburnt.
I've had enough of liberal poly sci teachers I"m not going to make lofty arguments I just think it's not a big deal we should be able to smoke it without our lives being fucked up.
BC if you are reading this thanks because I can pass every drug test in multiple ways. Life lesson because I would really be doing some research I did in high school. They can watch me piss and touch my dick and it doesn't have to be synthetic for me to pass.
melloyelloenthusiast
My favorite of theirs. I was so excited when i got it, i knew some of the songs already, but by the time "The Day John Henry Died" rolled around, i actually had tears in my eyes because of how beautiful this album was. I asked my friend "have you ever heard an album so good, it brought you to tears?" He texted me back in under a minute "Boston's debut album".....so this is what feelings are.
Kelly Dean
Love this band for years when the song first came out; I am a Southern girl. I’ve gone west now and they’re coming to Montana!
Bill Goodman
This is the first Drive By Truckers song I ever heard and loved when I heard Jason's vocals.
Heath House
There awsome..its sucks they dont get more exposure..i believe them you know. There real
CAT DIESEL POWER
Love it!!!👍
jason pressley
This could possibly be the best band ever
Gordon model94 jr.
Pink Floyd is but yeah this is a good song.
Gordon model94 jr.
Try seeing Pink Floyd live.
Chris Sawyer
It was.
Concrete Curse
Such a special group, love em