Drive-By Truckers. There's Some Alabamians With Theirs Heads Screwed On..

[Syrinx]

Straight.

PUTTIN' PEOPLE ON THE MOON
Mary Alice had a baby and he looked just like I did
We got married on a Monday and I been working ever since
Every week down at the Ford Plant but now they say they're shutting down
Goddamned Reagan in the White House and no one there gives a damn

Double Digit unemployment, TVA be shutting soon
While over there in Huntsville, They puttin' people on the moon

So I took to runnin' numbers for this man I used to know
And I sell a few narcotics and I sell a little blow
I ain't getting rich now but I'm gettin' more than by
It's really tough to make a living but a man just got to try

If I died in Colbert County, Would it make the evening news?
They too busy blowin' rockets, Puttin' people on the moon

Mary Alice quit askin' why I do the things I do
I ain't sayin' that she likes it, but what else I'm gonna do?
If I could solve the world's problems I'd probably start with hers and mine
But they can put a man on the moon
And I'm stuck in Muscle Shoals just barely scraping by

Mary Alice got cancer just like everybody here
Seems everyone I know is gettin' cancer every year
And we can't afford no insurance, I been 10 years unemployed
So she didn't get no chemo so our lives was destroyed
And nothin' ever changes, the cemetery gets more full
And now over there in Huntsville, even NASA's shut down too

Another Joker in the White House, said a change was comin' round
But I'm still workin' at The Wal Mart and Mary Alice, in the ground
And all them politicians, they all lyin' sacks of shit
They say better days upon us but I'm sucking left hind tit
And the preacher on the TV says it ain't too late for me
But I bet he drives a Cadillac and I'm broke with some hungry mouths to feed

I wish I'z still an outlaw, was a better way of life
I could clothe and feed my family still have time to love my pretty wife
And if you say I'm being punished. Ain't he got better things to do?
Turnin' mountains into oceans Puttin' people on the moon

Turnin' mountains into oceans Puttin' people on the moon

[RoyGBiv]

1. Damn ...

Thanks for that ...

[Syrinx]

2. you're welcome... cool, ain't they?

Just rolled throught T-Town a couple months ago. I hope they get to be BIG stars.

EDIT: You're an Alabama dude aren't you. Come hang out here more, if you please. :)

EDIT AGAIN: I remember you're from Oklahoma. But you're still welcome here.

[RoyGBiv]

3. No, not from Alabama ...

I just saw the title and your name and decided to check it. One line of my ancestors took up residence in Alabama, the line I actually like, so my heart goes there a lot.

And, the Best Breakfast I Ever Had was had in Huntsville. :-)

[Syrinx]

4. just missed you on my edit

I remembered you were an Okie. Us Bammers and Okies got a lot in common I think. Good and bad. I must ask what did you have for breakfast that time. It's about time for breakfast and I'm hungry. ;)

[RoyGBiv]

5. It was banquet kinda ...

My late uncle Doc (that is his real name) lived there on a farm of sorts. My family and I were visiting one time, got there late, and just went straight to bed. When I got up the next morning it was like every pleasant food smell I could possibly imagine was wandering all at once into the room where I was.

Pancakes (made in an iron skillet), bacon, ham, toast (also made in an iron skillet), deer sausage, real grits, greens of various kinds, BISCUITS ... the kind that start out as just a bag of flour and some butter and Crisco and end up as these flakey things that when you put them in your mouth melt into the most sensational flavor ... home-made apple butter, strawberry preserves, fresh orange juice.

I could live off those biscuits.

On edit: I forgot the eggs. I have no idea how they made them. They were fresh eggs, stolen from the hens that morning, but it had to be something else. I have never in my life tasted eggs like them.

Wasn't a spectacular menu exactly, just the way it was made, my grandma and a couple of her sisters and two brothers pulling out of the oven and stove these things that had to have had some magic in them. It's been a long time since I've seen breakfast as a group effort.

Damn. Now I'm hungry. :-)

[Syrinx]

6. thanks for the description!

I'm about to go to bed and I'll probably settle for some ham, or even "vienna sausages" and crackers. But I'll be thinking more about that descriptive breakfast than is healthy. I should be having more pornographic thoughts. Maybe I'll figure out how to get more pleasure from biscuits. :)

Y'all beat us two years in a row, but they were good games. I hope we can resume the series. Good luck!

[RoyGBiv]

7. Food Porn

Think I'll start a website. :-)

Never underestimate the power of weenies in a can. Those little things have kept my stomach satisfied through many late nights.

I have torn emotions when OU and Bama play. I like 'em both, but as you say, they were good games. I think Bama's time is coming and OU's in waning, though.

Have a good night. Think I should crawl into bed myself.

[Syrinx]

8. for my selfish reasons, I hope you're right

I'm eatin' some weenies out of a can and I don't care who knows. :hey:

[Alpharetta]

9. I like em

country rebel rock without the wrap-me-in-the-flag component

it'll never get playtime on ClearChannel

[Syrinx]

14. you're right about that

Unless they become big stars. Clear Channel would put their "principles" on hold in a heartbeat if they stood in the way of a dollar. But I don't expect that to happen anyway. The Truckers seem to have too much integrity to ever become huge. Wow, I just amazed myself by my level of cynicism.

[quaoar]

10. Gotta go buy that CD now

Thanks for posting that.

[Syrinx]

13. you're welcome :)

They played in Tuscaloosa a couple months ago. There was a nice article about them in the T. News. I'll see if I can find it. If I do, I'll edit this message and post a link.

EDIT: It was easier to find than I expected.

Patterson Hood knows “The Dirty South" seethes.

“It’s our election-year record, so it was an angry time," said Hood, co-founder of The Drive-By Truckers and one of its trio of guitarist/singer/songwriters.

*snip*

Yes, Hood and his bandmates are rarities: Southern liberals with rock guitars and no patience for jazzy noodling when they could be kicking out the jams.

With a sound that borrows equally from Merle Haggard, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Replacements, the DBT gets credited for putting the blood and vinegar back in Southern rock.

*snip*

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050318/NEWS/503180310&SearchID=7320827065784

Registration required, but bugmenot.com suggests this login info:

[e-mail]
tuscanews

[BamaLefty]

11. Wow, That Is GOOD!

You won't hear that on the radio though... :-(

[Syrinx]

12. they play them a little on WVUA

That's the student station at UA. I know what you mean though.

WVUA is a very weak station... about five or ten watts I think. I can't really receive the station satisfactorily, and I'm only about, oh, 12 miles away. UA also owns WUAL, which is a 100,000 watt powerhouse, and their tower is only a mile or two from here. I can hear them at several spots on the dial 'cause the signal is so strong. It's an NPR affiliate.

I really wanted to go to the Truckers' show, but I only found out about it that night. I couldn't find anyone to go with. I wish, now, that I'd gone alone.

[BamaLefty]

18. That Station Is So Lame

Lol, they TRY to carry 'Bama baseball games.

But I guess an upandcoming band will take what they can get huh?

[Syrinx]

19. yeah, it's just a bunch of students

They're still learning how to be broadcasters.

[BamaLefty]

20. Well,

they suck. :P

[Syrinx]

21. no argument here

I actually haven't listened to it much in years because of the poor reception. Where I used to live, I could get it better. The "talent" sucked then too. But the mix of music they played was a lot more interesting than the commercial stations. And that was before Clear Channel dominated radio like they do now.

I guess you're too young to remember this. But there used to be a station in Birmingham called K-99. WRKK. That was a kick-ass album rock station. The station was totally automated, which isn't so cool, but I didn't know that at the time. But it was a great station. I think they were picked as the best station in America by Rolling Stone magazine one year -- and this was back when Rolling Stone was cool. I'm bound to have some tapes I recorded of them; wish I knew where to look.

By the way, I haven't been down to the Gulf Coast lately, but everytime I go down there I'm amazed at the great radio stations they have in the area. You know, Mobile, Gulf Shores, Pensacola. I don't know why, but they really have some good rock stations down that way. Or at least they used to. It's been about two years since I've been to the beach.

[BamaLefty]

23. Re: Syrinx

I don't remember K-99 out of B'Ham.

Yeah, the Gulf Coast has some good stations. TK-101 out of Pensacola is the best IMO.

[Syrinx]

15. picture of the band (if you're interested)

[Syrinx]

16. whoever voted this for greatest page, I thank you!

That's the first time for me. Thanks!

[bamademo]

17. Wow!

Thanks for turning me on to this. I miss Rock and Roll. No one kicks ass any more. I'm just a middle aged hippie from Huntsville who longs to hear good Southern Rock.

For those in the North Alabama area, I found out they play at the Cross Roads in Huntsville frequently.

[Syrinx]

22. Glad to be of service

I hope you enjoy them. I think they're the real thing.

[quaoar]

24. Maybe we should recommend this song and band to the folks at Air America

It might get them some much-deserved attention.

[Syrinx]

25. sounds good to me! n/t

[BamaLefty]

26. Good Idea n/t

[quaoar]

27. You can listen to the song here

http://www.drivebytruckers.com/index.html

[southlandshari]

28. Awesome video there - thanks for the link.

Love "Never Gonna Change" video from the 40 Watt Club at my old stomping grounds in Athens, GA. A great nod to our south Alabama family members in that song if you haven't checked it out already.

I'm glad I finally had a chance to read this thread and to go to the band's site. Thanks again, quaoar, for the link. I think I'm going to buy a DBT CD to listen in the car whenever I can get up your way for that tutorial we talked about - which needs to be soon! I've got a list of questions four pages long!