To some, trucks and lorries may seem functional, but not exactly prime inspiration for songwriting. But maybe that’s why you’re not a multi-platinum selling artist, because all of these artists have managed to find their muse in the form of the humble HGV or the owner operator’s job…

69 Eyes – Truck On

While some have used the lorry as a metaphor for life, Finnish gothic metalers 69 Eyes talk no uncertain terms about the lorry as means to deliver loads from one place to another. Things do get a bit weird at one point though – perhaps the lead singer is getting stir crazy from being in his cab all night:

"Well I’m drivin’ amok Doggone’s my luck But I don’t give a **** And I’m feelin’ mean Bleedin’ gasoline Would you lick it clean?"

Despite the theme of the song and the obvious rhyme, the censored word is definitely not "Truck"…

Pavement – Heaven is a Truck

The song title makes it look like Stephen Malkmus is going to create a stunning ode to the truck as paradise… though the lyrics give the impression that Pavement’s idea of heaven is slightly more down to earth than most of us:

"Heaven is a truck It got stuck On a breeze Asked the driver nicely, I need a lift? I need release The sands in the boats On the rose-covered floats"

Yello – The Lorry

Swiss electronica act Yello played up the lonely elements of long distance haulage in their ode to lorries.

"Inside my lorry I am driving through the night Inside my lorry The world does look all right Five to five I’ve got to drive And if you ask me where I go I tell you coast to coast is what I do"

As they’re Swiss, we’ll forgive them not knowing that "go" and "do" don’t rhyme.

Bobby Bare – Truck Driver, Truck Driver

Bobby Bare’s truck driving song is taken slightly differently, all sung from the perspective of "a highway bum" hitching a ride, making increasingly bold requests. Starting of with "Don’t suppose you could sorta scoot over a little bit and give me a little more room cause I got long legs" via asking for cigarettes and the truckers jacket all the way up to "I see in that plastic frame a picture of a sexy blonde and you know that’s my kind of dame, man I’d really like to grab onto your wife huh." Eventually the patience of the truck driver is worn out, and the hitcher says "Now if you lend me a dollar and half I’ll move on down the line."

James Coffey – Hard Workin’ Truck

We’ve seen truck songs from the perspective of the driver and the passenger, but this one sets a new trend by being sung by the vehicle itself! The song outlines all the tasks that lorries can comfortably accomplish including picking up rubbish, digging ditches, construction work and haulage. The vehicle is evidently boastful about its talents: "No load is too heavy for my rig, no hill too high, no job too big…"

Bill Monroe – Lonesome Truck Driver Blues

As the title of this truck driving song suggests… this is another song highlighting the loneliness of the open road. The song describes the entire journey all the way down to the truckstops, but the drivers’ concerns about the road laws certainly ring true with our current fears about government interference: "If you load too light you can’t make a dime, if you load too heavy then you get a fine." The song does have an upbeat ending however, highlighting the best part of many a long distance haulier’s day:

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