Shooter Jennings lived his first few years in a crib on his parents' tour bus. By age five, he was playing drums. Between tours, he took piano lessons. He started playing guitar at fourteen and sometimes played in his father's band. He and his father recorded a few things together when they happened to have some microphones set up and the tape recorder plugged in. At age sixteen, Jennings discovered rock 'n' roll.
As an adult, Jennings left Nashville, Tennessee to seek his fortunes in Los Angeles. He assembled and performed with Stargunn, a southern rock band whose sound he described as Lynyrd Skynyrd mutating into Guns N' Roses. Stargunn performed at local clubs for six years, built a rabid following and earned praise from the local music press. But the Hollywood party scene eventually began to bother him. He says, "I was posing as a rocker—a country guy trying to be something he wasn't."
On March 30, 2003, Jennings dissolved Stargunn and moved to New York City to spend time with his girlfriend and sort out what he wanted to do next. An unexpected gig at the House of Blues a few weeks later revived his creativity. He returned to Los Angeles to form another band, the 357s. After six weeks in the studio, he completed his first solo album, Put the O Back in Country. Universal South released the album in early 2005.
Jennings portrayed his father in the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line. He is the host of Shooter Jennings' Electric Rodeo, a two-hour weekly music show on Sirius Satellite Radio's Outlaw Country channel. He currently dates Drea de Matteo. Shooter Jennings' second solo album "Electric Rodeo" was released on April 04, 2006.
The White Trash Song
Shooter Jennings Lyrics
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Hear that rooster crowing, I feel so all alone
Honey snuggle outside my window, do sparkling oh divine
Little squirrels is a’barking
Like they thought they was a mountain-lion
I get to thinking about the road, all the times I’ve been back again
I was born a child of these muddy roads
I guess I’ll die here lonesome as the wind
Playing’ live fun yard
I won’t get one, get her
But the road just seems too hard
Someone come round this morning,
Wanting to play in my barn
He was highway 41
Ladies and gentlemen
Well I use to have me a
Oh just as pretty as can be
All the Jimmy swagger
Left in Nashville Tennessee
So I drink me a whole lot of liquor
And I drink me a whole lot of booze
I’m a midnight country-rambler
And I ain’t got nothing to lose
I ain’t got nothing to lose boys
I wake up beyond the mornings
Laying in this jail
My head will be hurting
I won’t be feeling too well
That old flat-belly sheriff talking out to me
I wanna know how it felt: not being free
I said didn’t matter much,
Didn’t hurt at all
I’ll never be locked up in jail, hell, hell
Someone came around this morning,
Wanting to pay my bond
Playing through the city, you
The rest heading for you
In Shooter Jennings's song The White Trash Song feat. Scott H. Biram, the lyrics paint a vivid picture of a life of poverty, loneliness, and a constant struggle to make ends meet. The opening lines show the singer waking up to the sound of a rooster crowing at dawn, feeling so alone and isolated. This is followed by a description of the idyllic beauty of the surroundings, with the honeysuckle outside the window and the squirrels barking like mountain lions.
However, despite the beauty around him, the singer is aware of the harsh reality of his life. He thinks about the road and all the times he's been on it, returning to the same muddy roads where he was born. He knows that he is destined to die there, alone and lonesome as the wind. The singer also talks about his love lost, and his reaction of drinking liquor and becoming a country-rambler, with nothing to lose.
The final lines of the song depict the singer in jail, having been locked up. But the singer refuses to dwell on this too much, knowing that he will never been locked up again, and that he will always continue the rambling country life, no matter what.
Line by Line Meaning
Wake up every morning, by the break of dawn
I wake up early every morning as soon as the sun starts to rise
Hear that rooster crowing, I feel so all alone
The sound of roosters crowing in the morning makes me feel lonely and isolated
Honey snuggle outside my window, do sparkling oh divine
There are honeybees buzzing outside my window; their presence is enjoyable and awe-inspiring
Little squirrels is a’barking, like they thought they was a mountain-lion
The squirrels outside are making a lot of noise, as if they think they are as powerful as the biggest predator
I get to thinking about the road, all the times I’ve been back again
I reflect on all the journeys and experiences I've had while traveling down the road
I was born a child of these muddy roads, I guess I’ll die here lonesome as the wind
I was born and raised in a rural area; it seems like I will die here too, just as lonely as the wind
Cause all my cover broke down, playing’ live fun yard
All the things I used to rely on for support have failed, like playing music and enjoying time outdoors
I won’t get one, get her, but the road just seems too hard
I won't find a partner or companion, but traveling down this road seems too difficult to do alone
Someone come round this morning, wanting to play in my barn / He was highway 41
Someone came by my property asking if they could play music in my barn; he introduced himself as being from Highway 41
Ladies and gentlemen
An introduction or greeting to an audience
Well I use to have me a / Oh just as pretty as can be / All the Jimmy swagger / Left in Nashville Tennessee
I used to have a girlfriend who was very attractive; she left me for someone with more confidence and swagger
So I drink me a whole lot of liquor / And I drink me a whole lot of booze / I’m a midnight country-rambler / And I ain’t got nothing to lose / I ain’t got nothing to lose boys
I drink a lot of alcohol and travel around the countryside at night, with nothing to lose
I wake up beyond the mornings / Laying in this jail / My head will be hurting / I won’t be feeling too well
I wake up feeling terrible in jail, with a bad headache and no energy
That old flat-belly sheriff talking out to me / I wanna know how it felt: not being free
The thin sheriff is talking to me, asking if I know what it feels like to not be free
I said didn’t matter much, / Didn’t hurt at all / I’ll never be locked up in jail, hell, hell
I tell the sheriff that being locked up doesn't bother me, and that I will never be back in jail
Someone came around this morning, / Wanting to pay my bond / Playing through the city, you / The rest heading for you
Someone came to pay my bail this morning, playing music on the way to the city, while the rest of the group headed toward the city without me
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: S. YOUNG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind