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.
The Purgatory Line
Drive-By Truckers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It sure as hell ain't heaven.
I love you like the dickens and I miss you like the Devil.
I guess I'll do my time waitin' in this purgatory line.
Angels here are wearin' fancy new perfume,
And all the bread's unleavened.
Well I guess it'll have to do till I find you.
I don't know what I'm doin' here or why
I ain't exactly up.
I ain't gone too far down.
I'm lookin' for some answers and there ain't no one around.
I guess I'll lose my mind waitin' in this purgatory line.
If Jesus walked on water then where'd he get them shoes?
It just keeps gettin' harder to lose these walkin' blues.
I want you to come and take me home for a while.
Save me from this purgatory line.
Sometimes I can laugh.
Other times I cry.
It ain't exactly funny.
My feet are both on fire.
I guess they'll just burn for a while waitin' in this purgatory line.
Lovin' you is so easy, but waitin' here just ain't.
I know I can be patient, but please don't hesitate to cross my mind.
That's all I've got for a while.
Waitin' in this purgatory line.
The song "The Purgatory Line" by the Drive-By Truckers paints a picture of a temporary space between heaven and hell where the singer is waiting for his loved one to join him. He is confused about why he's there and feels lost as he searches for answers. The use of the term 'purgatory' is intentional as it is a space in Catholic belief where souls go to cleanse themselves before entering heaven, similar to the way the singer views the space between himself and his loved one.
The singer's love for his companion is clear, as he refers to her as his "angel" and misses her dearly. However, he also speaks of the difficulties of waiting in this "purgatory line". He states that his feet are both on fire, symbolizing the pain he is experiencing in the present moment, all while he searches for some sort of explanation for his current predicament.
The lyrics also play with religious references, questioning where Jesus got his shoes if he walked on water and referencing the unleavened bread consumed during Passover. The song ultimately highlights the complexities of human emotion and experience, and the uncertainty that comes with waiting for something we truly desire.
Line by Line Meaning
This ain't exactly hell.
This situation isn't the worst thing, but it's still not great.
It sure as hell ain't heaven.
This situation is far from being ideal or perfect.
I love you like the dickens and I miss you like the Devil.
I love you deeply and miss you intensely.
I guess I'll do my time waitin' in this purgatory line.
I don't know how long I'll be stuck in this limbo, but I don't have any other options right now.
Angels here are wearin' fancy new perfume,
Even though there are some good things here, it's still not quite paradise.
And all the bread's unleavened.
Even the little things that should be enjoyable are not quite right.
Well I guess it'll have to do till I find you.
I'll make the best of what I have until I can be with you again.
I don't know what I'm doin' here or why I'm waitin' in this purgatory line.
I'm lost and confused about why I'm in this situation and how to get out of it.
I ain't exactly up.
I'm not doing great, but I'm not doing terribly either.
I ain't gone too far down.
I haven't hit rock bottom yet, but I'm not far from it.
I'm lookin' for some answers and there ain't no one around.
I'm searching for solutions or guidance, but I feel like I'm on my own.
I guess I'll lose my mind waitin' in this purgatory line.
This waiting is driving me crazy and I don't know how much longer I can take it.
If Jesus walked on water then where'd he get them shoes?
Even the miraculous doesn't make sense sometimes.
It just keeps gettin' harder to lose these walkin' blues.
My sadness and frustration are only getting worse.
I want you to come and take me home for a while.
I need a break from this situation and some comfort from you.
Save me from this purgatory line.
Please help me escape from this limbo and find a better place to be.
Sometimes I can laugh.
Occasionally, I can find moments of joy or humor in this situation.
Other times I cry.
Most of the time, I'm overwhelmed with sadness or frustration.
It ain't exactly funny.
This situation is far from comical or enjoyable.
My feet are both on fire.
This situation is causing me physical and emotional pain.
I guess they'll just burn for a while waitin' in this purgatory line.
I don't have any relief or respite from this pain, so I'll just have to endure it for now.
Lovin' you is so easy, but waitin' here just ain't.
Being in love with you is effortless, but being apart from you is torture.
I know I can be patient, but please don't hesitate to cross my mind.
I'll wait as long as I have to, but please don't forget about me or our love in the meantime.
That's all I've got for a while.
This is all I can offer right now, as I'm still stuck in this limbo.
Waitin' in this purgatory line.
This is my current situation of being stuck in limbo and waiting for a way out.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: BRAD MORGAN, JOHN COOLEY, JOHN NEFF, PATTERSON HOOD, SHONNA TUCKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
lawrence97431
This song kicks ass. I read in Wikipedia that Shonna Tucker wrote it, so I guess she must be the vocalist, too. Damned nice job by all involved.
Sean Mclaughlin
Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly, and devils fall because of their gravity.
sakkie prinsloo
This ain't exactly hell.
It sure as hell ain't heaven.
I love you like the dickens and I miss you like the Devil.
I guess I'll do my time waitin' in this purgatory line.
Angels here are wearin' fancy new perfume,
And all the bread's unleavened.
Well I guess it'll have to do till I find you.
I don't know what I'm doin' here or why
I'm waitin' in this purgatory line.
I ain't exactly up.
I ain't gone too far down.
I'm lookin' for some answers and there ain't no one around.
I guess I'll lose my mind waitin' in this purgatory line.
If Jesus walked on water then where'd he get them shoes?
It just keeps gettin' harder to lose these walkin' blues.
I want you to come and take me home for a while.
Save me from this purgatory line.
Sometimes I can laugh.
Other times I cry.
It ain't exactly funny. My feet are both on fire.
I guess they'll just burn for a while waitin' in this purgatory line.
Lovin' you is so easy, but waitin' here just ain't.
I know I can be patient, but please don't hesitate to cross my mind.
That's all I've got for a while.
Waitin' in this purgatory line.
Tatjana Baker
Thank you for posting the lyrics.
Ange Woodbury
The