What is the song “Truckin’” by Grateful Dead about?

Rolling on the open road has always been a central theme of blues music, and the style became even more popular when many of the Delta’s great bluesmen moved north to establish a new center of electric blues in Chicago.

The Dead drew on a tradition that was already deeply rooted in American culture at the time. Their references to New Orleans’ Bourbon Street jazz mile and three of the four most important places of work for African-American musicians – Chicago, New York, Detroit – make it clear whose tradition they draw on.

On the other hand, the song’s title and the way it rattles off so many cities in a row (six in the first three verses alone) suggest that they’re singing about something other than the open road to nowhere. At first glance, the Dead seem to be singing about hauling cargo across North America on 18 steel wheels.

Their song must have been on some compilation albums and playlists for truckers, but what inspired them to write about this topic? Did any of them actually have experience driving a truck?

“Absolutely autobiographical”

In fact, “Truckin'” isn’t about freight deliveries at all. It’s about the Grateful Dead driving around the country on their seemingly endless tours early in their career, and the fun they had before moving on to the next venue.

“We were on tour about four to six months a year,” rhythm guitarist Bob Weir explained in a Classic Albums Documentation about their LP Hymn to Beauty“It was our daily bread, we didn’t sell that many records and we had a lot of fun on tour.”

Weir said the Dead didn’t always have it easy, as they were the archetypal rock’n’roll guests everywhere they stayed. “We left smoking craters in a few Holiday Inns, I have to say. And there were a few places that wouldn’t take us back.” He claims that each of the stories mentioned in “Truckin'” are “totally autobiographical.”

These stories include being framed by the police for a drug raid in New Orleans, gambling away what little money they had playing cards, and spending all night in bed with girls who lived on cocaine and vitamin C. Drummer Mickey Hart believes the fact that these things really happened makes people believe the song. “People could sing it and know there was an event that was directly related to it.”

When in doubt, write about what you know. Even if that means a wild life on the road.

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