Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwrite… Read Full Bio ↴Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music. Popular since the early 1980s, he has recorded more than 21 albums and compilations, charted more than 30 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and sold more than 25 million records. Yoakam has recorded 5 Billboard #1 Albums, 12 Gold Albums, and 9 Platinum Albums, including the Triple Platinum This Time. In addition to his many achievements in the performing arts, Yoakam is also the most frequent musical guest in the history of The Tonight Show.

Yoakam was born in Pikeville, Kentucky, the son of Ruth Ann, a key-punch operator, and David Yoakam, a gas-station owner. He was raised in Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from Columbus's Northland High School in 1974. During his high school years, he excelled in both music and drama, regularly securing the lead role in school plays, such as "Charlie" in a stage version of Flowers for Algernon, honing his skills under the guidance of teacher-mentors Jerry McAfee (music) and Charles Lewis (drama). Outside of school, Yoakam sang and played guitar with local garage bands, and entertained his friends and classmates with his impersonations, such as Richard Nixon, who, at the time, was heavily embroiled in the Watergate controversy.

Yoakam briefly attended Ohio State University, but dropped out and moved to Nashville in 1977 with the intent of becoming a recording artist. Later on, Ohio Valley University in Parkersburg, West Virginia awarded and presented Dwight with an honorary doctorate degree on May 7, 2005.

When he began his career, Nashville was oriented toward pop "urban cowboy" music, and Yoakam's brand of hip honky tonk music was not considered marketable.

Not making much headway in Nashville, Yoakam moved to Los Angeles and worked towards bringing his particular brand of new Honky Tonk or "Hillbilly" music (as he called it) forward into the 1980s. Writing all his own songs, and continuing to perform mostly outside traditional country music channels, Yoakam did many shows in rock and punk rock clubs around Los Angeles, playing with roots rock or punk rock acts like The Blasters (Yoakam scored a small video hit with his version of their song "Long White Cadillac"), Los Lobos, and X. This helped him diversify his audience beyond the typical country music fans, and his authentic, groundbreaking music is often credited with rock audiences accepting country music.

Yoakam's recording debut was the self-financed EP Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. on independent label Oak Records produced by lead-guitarist Pete Anderson; this was later re-released by Reprise records, with several additional tracks, as his major-label debut LP, 1986's Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.. It launched his career. "Honky Tonk Man", a remake of the Johnny Horton song, and "Guitars, Cadillacs" were hit singles. His stylish video "Honky Tonk Man" was the first country music video ever played on MTV. The follow-up LP, Hillbilly Deluxe, was just as successful. His third LP, Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room, included his first No. 1, a duet with his musical idol, Buck Owens, on "Streets of Bakersfield". 1990's If There Was a Way was another best-seller.

Yoakam's song "Readin', Rightin', Route 23" pays tribute to his childhood move from Kentucky, and is named after a local expression describing the route that rural Kentuckians took to find a job outside of the coal mines. (U.S. Route 23 runs north from Kentucky through Columbus and Toledo, Ohio and through the automotive centers of Michigan.) Rather than the standard line that their elementary schools taught "the three Rs" of "Readin', 'Ritin', and 'Rithmetic", Kentuckians used to say that the three Rs they learned were "Readin', 'Ritin, and Route 23 North".

Johnny Cash once cited Yoakam as his favorite country singer. Chris Isaak called him as good a songwriter that ever put a pen to paper. Time Magazine dubbed Yoakam "A Renaissance Man" and Vanity Fair declared that "Yoakam strides the divide between rock's lust and country's lament." Along with his bluegrass and honky-tonk roots, Yoakam has written or covered many Elvis Presley-style rockabilly songs, including his covers of Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" in 1999 and Presley's "Suspicious Minds" in 1992. He recorded a cover of The Clash's "Train in Vain" in 1997, a cover of the Grateful Dead song "Truckin'", as well as Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me". Yoakam has never been associated only with Country music; on many early tours, he played with Hardcore Punk bands like Hüsker Dü, and played many shows around Los Angeles with Roots/Punk/Rock & Roll acts. His middle-period-to-later records saw him branching out to different styles, covering Rock & Roll, Punk, 1960's, Blues-based "Boogie" like ZZ Top, and writing more adventurous songs like "A Thousand Miles From Nowhere". In 2003, he provided background vocals on Warren Zevon's last album The Wind.

In the 21st century, Yoakam released dwightyoakamacoustic.net, an album featuring solo acoustic versions of many of his hits; left his major label and started his own label.

2005 saw the release of Yoakam's well-reviewed album Blame the Vain, on New West Records. Yoakam also released an album dedicated to Buck Owens, Dwight Sings Buck, on October 23, 2007. His duet with Michelle Branch, a song titled "Long Goodbye", was released as a free download on Branch's official website in early 2011.

In July 2011, Yoakam re-signed with Warner Bros. Nashville and announced plans to release a new album. 3 Pears was released on September 18, 2012 with twelve new tracks. The album, produced by Yoakam, includes collaborations with Kid Rock, Beck, and Ashley Monroe. 3 Pears was released to resounding critical acclaim and earned Yoakam the highest-charting debut of his career on the Billboard 200 and Billboard Country Albums charts. 3 Pears reached #1 on the Americana Radio chart on October 29, 2012 and went on to break the 2012 record for most weeks at #1 on Americana Radio.[4] By the end of 2012, the album was named on annual best of lists by NPR, Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, AOL's The Boot, Entertainment Weekly, The Village Voice, and Rhapsody, and has been included in more critic's "best of 2012" lists than any other artist in the country genre.

Yoakam won the Grammy Award for "Best Male Country Vocal Performance" in 1993 for the song "Ain't That Lonely Yet". He was also named "Artist of the Year" by CMT Europe in 1993 and given the International Touring Artist Award by CMA in 2007.

In 2011, Yoakam received the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award for his trailblazing achievements in the country music genre.

Truckin'
Dwight Yoakam Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Truckin' - got my chips cashed in
Keep Truckin' - like the doodah man
Together - more or less in line
Just keep truckin' on

Arrows of neon and flashing marquees out on Main Street
Chicago, New York, Detroit, it's all the same street
Your typical city involved in a typical daydream

Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings

Dallas - got a soft machine
Houston - too close to New Orleans
New York - got the ways and means
But just won't let you be

Most of the cats you meet on the street speak of True Love
Most of the time they're sittin' and cryin' at home
One of these days they know they gotta get goin'
Out of the door and down to the street all alone

Truckin' - like the doodah man
Once told me you got to play your hand
Sometimes - the cards ain't worth a damn
If you don't lay 'em down

Sometimes the light's all shining on me
Other times I can barely see
Lately it occurs to me
What a long strange trip it's been

Hey, what in the world ever became of sweet Jane?
She lost her sparkle, you know she isn't the same
Living on reds, vitamin see and cocaine
All a friend can say is "Ain't it a shame"

Truckin' - up to Buffalo
Been thinkin' - you got to mellow slow
Take time - you pick a place to go
And just keep truckin' on

Sitting and staring out of a hotel window
Got a tip they're kicking the door in again
I'd like to get some sleep before I travel
But if you got a warrant I guess you're gonna come in

Busted - down on Bourbon Street
Set up - like a bowling pin
Knocked down - it gets to wearing thin
They just won't let you be

You're sick of hanging around and you'd like to travel
Get tired of traveling, you'd like to settle down
I guess they can't revoke your soul for trying
Get out of the door - light out and look all around

Sometimes the light's all shining on me
Other times I can barely see
Lately it occurs to me
What a long strange trip it's been

Truckin' - I'm a goin' home
Whoa - oh, baby, back where I belong

Back home - sit down and patch my bones
And get back truckin' on

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Truckin'" by Dwight Yoakam narrates the journey of a truck driver who, with his chips cashed in, decides to keep truckin' like the doodah man. His travels take him to different parts of the United States, including Dallas, New Orleans, New York, and Buffalo. Despite cultural differences, he finds that cities and people's daydreams are mostly similar. He also encounters people who talk about true love, but most of them are just crying at home. The trucker feels that sometimes his cards are not worth playing, and the light could be shining on him or barely visible at other times.

The trucker's journey has its ups and downs, and he encounters friends and acquaintances who have taken the wrong path in life. Sweet Jane, for instance, has lost her sparkle due to her drug addiction, and living on alcohol and drugs hasn't done her any good. The trucker is also aware that sometimes, he has to mellow slow and take time to choose where he wants to go. Sometimes he gets fed up with traveling and chooses to settle down, but he knows he cannot revoke his soul for trying. Eventually, he goes back home to patch his bones and get back to truckin'.

Line by Line Meaning

Truckin' - got my chips cashed in
I'm all set, ready to hit the road

Keep Truckin' - like the doodah man
Just keep moving forward like the doodah man

Together - more or less in line
We're all together, kind of in sync

Just keep truckin' on
Let's just keep moving forward

Arrows of neon and flashing marquees out on Main Street
The bright lights of the city are captivating

Chicago, New York, Detroit, it's all the same street
Every city has its own uniqueness yet all the same

Your typical city involved in a typical daydream
Life in the city is pretty mundane and repetitive

Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings
Let's put aside our worries and see what the future holds

Dallas - got a soft machine
Dallas has its own charm

Houston - too close to New Orleans
Things can get sticky in Houston

New York - got the ways and means
New York has it all

But just won't let you be
It's hard to find peace in New York

Most of the cats you meet on the street speak of True Love
People on the street often talk of finding true love

Most of the time they're sittin' and cryin' at home
But most of the time they are just sad and alone

One of these days they know they gotta get goin'
Eventually, everyone needs to move on

Out of the door and down to the street all alone
Sometimes you just have to leave and be on your own

Truckin' - like the doodah man
Just keep on truckin'

Once told me you got to play your hand
Someone once told me you have to take chances

Sometimes - the cards ain't worth a damn
Sometimes things just don't go your way

If you don't lay 'em down
But you can't win if you don't try

Sometimes the light's all shining on me
In life, sometimes everything just works out

Other times I can barely see
And other times, everything is a blur

Lately it occurs to me
I've been thinking a lot lately

What a long strange trip it's been
And life is never predictable

Hey, what in the world ever became of sweet Jane?
I wonder what happened to sweet Jane?

She lost her sparkle, you know she isn't the same
She just isn't the same person she used to be

Living on reds, vitamin see and cocaine
She's getting by on drugs

All a friend can say is "Ain't it a shame"
It's a sad situation

Truckin' - up to Buffalo
We're heading up to Buffalo

Been thinkin' - you got to mellow slow
I've been thinking, I need to relax and slow down

Take time - you pick a place to go
Take your time and decide where you want to go

And just keep truckin' on
And then just keep moving forward

Sitting and staring out of a hotel window
Sitting in a hotel room, looking out the window

Got a tip they're kicking the door in again
I got word they might be coming to get me

I'd like to get some sleep before I travel
I really need some rest before I hit the road

But if you got a warrant I guess you're gonna come in
But it looks like the law is after me

Busted - down on Bourbon Street
I got caught down on Bourbon Street

Set up - like a bowling pin
I was completely set up

Knocked down - it gets to wearing thin
It's getting exhausting being knocked down all the time

They just won't let you be
Can't seem to catch a break

You're sick of hanging around and you'd like to travel
You're getting restless and want to go somewhere new

Get tired of traveling, you'd like to settle down
But you know you can't keep traveling forever

I guess they can't revoke your soul for trying
At least they can't take away your spirit

Get out of the door - light out and look all around
Go explore and see what's out there

Truckin' - I'm a goin' home
Heading back home again

Whoa - oh, baby, back where I belong
Where I feel most at home

Back home - sit down and patch my bones
Relax and take care of myself

And get back truckin' on
And then hit the road again

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: RUBE BLOOM, TED KOEHLER, MARCEL GEORGES JEAN OTTO, FRANCOIS JOSEPH CHARLES SALABERT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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