21st Century USA

Album: The Unraveling (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Drive-By Truckers are one of the most prolific groups, generally dropping albums every couple of years. However, the release of The Unraveling came a whole 40 months after their previous set. The reason for the delay was, in part, a case of writer's block suffered by co-frontman Patterson Hood.

    Hood's breakthrough came while walking from the band bus to a nearby diner for some breakfast during a day off in a Wyoming small town. Inspired by the place, which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, Hood came up with lyrics about an economically depressed rural location whose population is "working hard for shrinking pay." Scrawling his melancholy observations on a napkin, his song idea opened the floodgates for the other Unraveling tracks.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Francesca Battistelli

Francesca BattistelliSongwriter Interviews

The 2011 Artist of the Year at the Dove Awards isn't your typical gospel diva, and she thinks that's a good thing.

Mike Scott of The Waterboys

Mike Scott of The WaterboysSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Whole Of The Moon" and "Red Army Blues," and why rock music has "outlived its era of innovation."

Rock Revenge Songs

Rock Revenge SongsMusic Quiz

John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?

Grunge Bands Quiz

Grunge Bands QuizMusic Quiz

If the name Citizen Dick means anything to you, there's a chance you'll get some of these right.

Chris Isaak

Chris IsaakSongwriter Interviews

Chris tells the story of "Wicked Game," talks milkshakes and moonpies at Sun Records, and explains why women always get their way.

Penny Ford of Snap!

Penny Ford of Snap!Songwriter Interviews

The original voice of Snap! this story is filled with angry drag queens, video impersonators and Chaka Khan.