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Musicians find inspiration in ... freight

A surprising number of musicians have written songs about freight transportation. Here are a few examples.

Toby Gooley
By Toby GooleyJan 17, 2011
Toby Gooley
Contributing Editor Toby Gooley is a writer and editor specializing in supply chain, logistics, and material handling, and a lecturer at MIT's Center for Transportation & Logistics. She previously was Senior Editor at DC VELOCITY and Editor of DCV's sister publication, CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly. Prior to joining AGiLE Business Media in 2007, she spent 20 years at Logistics Management magazine as Managing Editor and Senior Editor covering international trade and transportation. Prior to that she was an export traffic manager for 10 years. She holds a B.A. in Asian Studies from Cornell University.
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Generally speaking, freight transportation isn't something that inspires artistic expression. That's why we nearly drove off the road when a local radio station recently played not one but two songs with freight-related themes: "White Freightliner Blues" by the late Texas icon Townes Van Zandt and "Texas Eagle" by Steve Earle. The former is about a traveler who seeks solace in the whine of big rigs speeding down the highway; the latter describes a young boy's trip with his grandfather on a now-defunct freight line.

That inspired us to start digging through our collection of vinyl records and CDs for other mode-specific songs. Our search turned up the following trucking-related selections:

  • "Wild, Wild Heart" by Bill Staines ("Give me a good heavy load and a clear stretch of road, and I'll let that old bulldog whine.")
  • "Kenworth of My Dreams" by Richard Shindell ("I'll go anywhere for anything in the Kenworth of my dreams.")
  • "Willin'" by Lowell George of Little Feat ("I've been from Tucson to Tucumcari, Tehachapi to Tomapah, driven every kind of rig that's ever been made.") This classic has also been covered by Shindell and, most famously, by Linda Ronstadt.

And let's not forget the band Drive-by Truckers or singer Derek Trucks ...

Next month we'll round up a few freight railroad songs. Happy listening!

ArticleTransportation
february 2011kenworth truck company
ArticleTransportation
february 2011kenworth truck company

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