East Bound And Down

Album: East Bound And Down (1977)
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  • East bound and down, loaded up and truckin'
    Oh, we gonna do what they say can't be done
    We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there
    I'm east bound, just watch ol' Bandit run

    Keep your foot hard on the pedal, son never mind them brakes
    Let it all hang out, 'cause we got a run to make
    The boys are thirsty in Atlanta and there's beer in Texarkana
    And we'll bring it back no matter what it takes

    East bound and down, loaded up and truckin'
    Oh, we gonna do what they say can't be done
    We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there
    I'm east bound, just watch ol' Bandit run

    East bound and down, loaded up and truckin'
    Oh, we gonna do what they say can't be done
    We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there
    I'm east bound, just watch ol' Bandit run

    Old Smokey's got them ears on, he's hot on your trail
    And he ain't gonna rest 'til you're in jail
    So you gotta dodge him, you've gotta duck him
    You gotta keep that diesel truckin'
    Just put that hammer down and give it hell

    East bound and down, loaded up and truckin'
    Oh, we gonna do what they say can't be done
    We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there
    I'm east bound, just watch ol' Bandit run Writer/s: Dick Feller, Jerry Hubbard Reed
    Publisher: CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, O/B/O DistroKid, Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 14

  • Jennifur Sun from RamonaBelieve it or not this was almost left out of the movie.
  • Jennifur Sun from RamonaAllen he also did a funny film with Tom Selleck called Concrete Cowboy.
  • Ginny White from Bay AreaDoes anyone know who played on that recording with Jerry? My late dad loved the movie - always made him laugh.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn May 19th 1977, the Burt Reynolds/Jerry Reed movie 'Smokey and the Bandit' had its world premiere in New York City; and eight days later on May 27th it opened in theaters across the U.S. and Canada...
    Later in the year on October 9th "East Bound and Down", which was featured in the film, peaked at #2* {for 2 weeks} on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart...
    Between 1967 and 1983 Jerry Reed had fifty-two records make the Hot Country Singles chart; six made the Top 10 with three reaching #1, "When You're Hot, You’re Hot" in 1971, "Lord, Mr. Ford" in 1973, and "She Got the Gold Mine (I Got the Shaft)" in 1982...
    He just missed have five #1 records when "The Bird" and "East Bound and Down" both peaked at #2...
    Jerry Reed, born Jerry Reed Hubbard, passed away on September 1st, 2008 at the age of 71...
    May he R.I.P.
    * The two weeks that "East Bound and Down" was at #2 the #1 record for both those weeks was "Heaven's Just A Sin Away" by the Kendalls.
  • Eric from Nyc, Ny@Brian, Chicago area, Il

    Coors wasn't sold east of the Mississippi because of the way it was stored. It was refrigerated constantly and it's temperature never fluctuated more than a few degrees. At the time there wasn't shipping methods that allowed it to be shipped further than about a thousand miles from Golden, CO. economically at that temperature. The gimmick was shipping it further would degrade the taste because it would heat up and affect the flavor, so it wasn't sold east of the Mississippi and to do so was considered bootlegging.

    It had nothing to do with alcohol content. Several western states have 3.2% beer laws, whereas eastern states do not.


  • Brian from Chicago Area, IlThe point of the beer being in Texarkana is that iot was Coors, which, in the l;ate 70's, could not be distributed east of the MIssissippi River due to its alcohol content. It was considered bootlegging to take the beer from Texarkana to Atlanta.

    Also, early on in the film, the lyrics to the first stanza of the chorus were changed slightly to "Westbound and down, eighteen wheels are rollin'" in keeping with the "Greek Chorus" theme of the song telling the story.
  • Jas from Clifton, TxI don't understand how "duck 'em" could ever be misheard as "doble." They don't even sound remotely alike. Doesn't particularly matter though, this is a fun song by an often underrated singer. Too bad though, I often misheard it when people would say "Jerry Reed," I thought they were saying "British Pickle Monster," Jay Leno owns one of them too.
  • Allen from Chicago, IlJerry Reed made a number of films with Burt including this series and "Gator". He even has a cameo in "Stroker Ace" during the blooper reel.
  • Oldpink from New Castle, InThe thing that may surprise a lot of people is that Jerry could play a MEAN guitar.
    Yes, he could be funny, especially on the likes of this and "Amos Moses," but that old Cajun could really tear it up.
  • Mark from Old Bridge, NjYou should also listed have Amos Moses by Jerry Reed it came out in 1970 and went to # 8 On the Charts
  • Karl from Akron, , OhOne of the writers of this song is Dickie Feller.. He had a few minor hits played mostly on C/W stations... Biff the purple bear, Making the best of a bad situation, and The credit card song. The last 2 songs mentioned were pretty funny.
  • Darrell from EugeneSpeaking of Doble Model E's, Jay Leno owns one.
  • Darrell from Eugene, United StatesFor years, I thought that the line with "You've gotta dodgum and you gotta duckum" was "I've got the Dodge and you've got the Doble", the latter referring to the 1926 Doble Model E steam car, which was built in California by Abner Doble. Only a handful of Dobles were built, and even fewer exist today, and it is NOT, I repeat, NOT a well-known car. I looked at the lyrics on Songfacts.com recently, and I found out that my interpretation was wrong.
  • Ron from Green Bay, WiIn an interview with Hal Needam, director of "Smokie and the Bandit", he said that he didn't have any music for the film. Jerry Reed came back 2 days later with 3 songs that were used in the movie unchanged.
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