Bad Mother Trucker

Album: Soul (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Most trucking songs tell stories about working men behind the wheel. Here, Eric Church switches things up by honoring a tough-as-nails female hauler.

    Them boys would chuckle when they saw her buckle
    Herself in the captain's seat
    But nobody was laughin' when she'd go to passin'
    Smilin' at them real sweet


    The closest cousin we could find on our database is Crystal Bowersox's "Arlene," which is about a female bus driver.
  • The feminist anthem is recounted by the son who details how his "bad mother" taught him everything he knows about respecting women.

    I was raised on jerky from here to Albuquerque
    Went to school on her ol' CB
    She made a name for herself, taught me how to spell
    R-E-S-P-E-C-T


    Church nods to another feminist anthem, Aretha Franklin's 1967 hit tune "Respect" where the Queen of Soul also spells out R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
  • Country singer Joanna Cotten provides soulful vocal harmony throughout the song. A longtime Eric Church backing vocalist, Cotten can also be heard supplying the gospel harmonies on "Heart Like a Wheel."
  • Church co-wrote this slide guitar-propelled southern rocker with Casey Beathard, Luke Dick and Jeremy Spillman. All three have collaborated with Church before, including Beathard with "Drowning Man," Dick with "'Round Here Buzz" and Spillman with "The Snake."
  • Church's regular producer Jay Joyce helmed the track.
  • The original "bad mother..." is Shaft, from the Isaac Hayes song and movie. This song spins it around by making the character a woman.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The Kingdom

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The KingdomSongwriter Interviews

The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")Songwriter Interviews

Phil was a songwriter, producer and voice behind many Philadelphia soul classics. When disco hit, he got an interesting project: The Village People.

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The Remasters

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The RemastersSong Writing

Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.

British Invasion

British InvasionFact or Fiction

Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.

Chris Rea

Chris ReaSongwriter Interviews

It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.