Somethin' 'Bout a Truck

Album: Kip Moore (2012)
Charted: 29
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Tifton, Georgia native Kip Moore made his first public performance at a Mellow Mushroom restaurant in the Georgian town of Valdosta. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2004, where songwriter and producer Brett James helped him sign to a publishing deal. Four years later he signed to a record deal with MCA Nashville and released his debut single "Mary Was the Marrying Kind" in early 2011, which peaked at #45 on the country chart. This Mississippi Delta blues infused track is his second single, and his first Hot 100 hit.
  • Moore wrote the tune after reflecting back on his youth and how he came to the realization that owning a truck helped him pick up girls. "The song is what it is," Moore told Taste of Country. "It's one of those things where I drove a little box car in high school and college. In both high school and college, similar things happened to me where I was maybe pursuing somebody. I got somebody to go out with me, and they didn't seem real interested every time they climbed in that little bucket car of mine."

    However, Moore quickly learned that ditching his "little box car" for a pickup can change everything. "On two different occasions that thing broke down and somebody let me use their truck," he continued. "It was like I became a whole new person. I couldn't peel [girls] off of me. I was like, 'Wait a minute… I'm the same damn dude, I'm just driving a different ride. There must be something about a truck!'"
  • Moore has also had success writing for other artists, co-penning two tracks, "All the Way" and "Let's Fight," from Thompson Square's 2011 self-titled debut album plus "Settin' The World On Fire" from Jake Owen's Barefoot Blue Jean Night LP, which was released the same year.
  • Moore penned this song with frequent collaborator Dan Couch late in the day during a songwriting session. He recalled to Mike Ragogna of The Huffington Post: "We had already gotten done writing a song and he was about to walk out the door. We had just got done talking about when my dad let me hold that truck, how I had this little beat up car and I was hanging out with girls who didn't seem too into me, then I picked her up in that truck and picked up a whole other woman. I threw the keys to my dad when I came home and said, 'Damn dad, there's something about a truck.' Right when I said that, he was walking out the door and said, "We've got to write that right now." It was about five o' clock and (Dan) had to be home, and he called his wife and told her we had to write something else. We sat there for another few hours and that's what came out."
  • Moore explained to Taste of Country that the song specifically goes back to his wilder years, when he was dating an older woman who was not impressed by his Isuzu Stylus. It broke down one night, and his father lent him the keys to his truck. "And I picked her up man, and it was like I picked up a whole 'nother woman," Moore revealed. "She was, she was a woman that time."
  • The song finally arrived at #1 on the Country charts in its 33rd week on the survey. "Small town America is everywhere," Moore commented to The Boot regarding the song's appeal. "It's in every part of the country and there are so many teens and college kids that are living that song, and even people that are a lot older than that. There are people going out in fields, fishing, drinking beer and sitting on tailgates. That's just he way so many of us grew up and that's why the song has resonated. It's very relatable for anybody coming from these small towns."
  • "Somethin' 'Bout a Truck" veers off the hit song playbook with a chorus that doesn't arrive until a minute into the song. This hurt the song's chances of earning airplay, but Moore and Couch remained undeterred.

    "I remember saying, 'If this ever gets a chance this is a big song,' but the key word was chance," Moore explained to American Songwriter magazine. "We knew that we took way too long by industry standards of getting to the chorus... Tom Petty is the king of getting to the chorus within 30 seconds. He does it with all of his songs."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many Songs

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many SongsSong Writing

For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.

Women Who Rock

Women Who RockSong Writing

Evelyn McDonnell, editor of the book Women Who Rock, on why the Supremes are just as important as Bob Dylan.

Rupert Hine

Rupert HineSongwriter Interviews

Producer Rupert Hine talks about crafting hits for Tina Turner, Howard Jones and The Fixx.

Did They Really Sing In That Movie?

Did They Really Sing In That Movie?Fact or Fiction

Bradley Cooper, Michael J. Fox, Rami Malek, Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow and George Clooney: Which actors really sang in their movies?

Tanita Tikaram

Tanita TikaramSongwriter Interviews

When she released her first album in 1988, Tanita became a UK singing sensation at age 19. She talks about her darkly sensual voice and quirky songwriting style.

Harry Shearer

Harry ShearerSongwriter Interviews

Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.