Shaky Town

Album: Running on Empty (1977)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Released in 1977, Running On Empty is Jackson Browne's love letter, or perhaps more accurately, a weary sigh, dedicated to life on the road. Nestled within the album is "Shaky Town," a song penned by Browne's guitarist and friend Danny Kortchmar, that depicts the relentless cycle of tour life.
  • The song is a paean to the realities of constant travel, one-night stands, the indistinguishable motel rooms, and the ever-present hum of 18-wheelers rolling down the highway like mechanical lullabies. Kortchmar borrowed the title from CB radio slang for Los Angeles, known for its propensity for earthquakes.

    This young man feels
    Those eighteen wheels
    That keep turning 'round to take me down to Shaky Town


    The song is soaked in resignation as the young man is caught in a continuous cycle of travel, with Los Angeles a frequent destination.
  • Kortchmar told Uncut magazine that he wrote the song during the downtime between touring with James Taylor and heading out with Jackson Browne. At the time, CB radios were the Twitter of truckers with their endless chatter, colorful slang, and a whole lexicon of road-bound wisdom. Inspired by this, Kortchmar worked some of the lingo into "Shaky Town" and played it one night for Browne in Denver. Browne's response was enthusiastic: "Oh, we gotta record it!"
  • The Running on Empty album took the idea of capturing the road experience and ran with it. Browne and his band recorded the entire album while on the road, in various locations including stages, dressing rooms, tour buses, and hotel rooms. "Shaky Town" was captured in the humble confines of Room 124 of the Holiday Inn in Edwardsville, Illinois. Kortchmar sang harmony vocals and played lead guitar on the song.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Amy Grant

Amy GrantSongwriter Interviews

The top Contemporary Christian artist of all time on song inspirations and what she learned from Johnny Carson.

70s Music Quiz 1

70s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

The '70s gave us Muppets, disco and Van Halen, all which show up in this groovy quiz.

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music Scene

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music SceneSong Writing

With $50 and a glue stick, Bruce Pavitt created Sub Pop, a fanzine-turned-label that gave the world Nirvana and grunge. He explains how motivated individuals can shift culture.

Jello Biafra

Jello BiafraSongwriter Interviews

The former Dead Kennedys frontman on the past, present and future of the band, what music makes us "pliant and stupid," and what he learned from Alice Cooper.

Bible Lyrics

Bible LyricsMusic Quiz

Rockers, rappers and pop stars have been known to quote the Bible in their songs. See if you match the artist to the biblical lyric.

Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty

Rob Thomas of Matchbox TwentySongwriter Interviews

Rob Thomas on his Social Distance Sessions, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana.