Final Load - Ballad of the Trucker

The song is available anywhere you listen!

As many miles as Musk has dough.
Well, not really - it feels it, though.
43 years behind the same wheel.
25 grand; got it for a steal.
They took my card, and said I was through.
67 years - now, what do I do?
Back in ‘58, I was 17.
Just a boy with a truck and a dream.

CHORUS
25 grand for the house
25 grand for the truck,
25 grand sunsets on the road.
Everything I’d ever known.
I never thought I would haul a final load.

Built a fleet, ran it from the road.
Payphone to payphone, and load to load.
Blue and me known coast-to-coast, all over.
Now here I am, just a ghostly rover.
Built a house in the woods for my wife and kids
Cleared it myself, cuz that’s how I live.
It’s a Jersey thing. Like Frank used to say, 
Blue and me - we’ll do it our way.

CHORUS

The wife came with me once.
I sent her home by plane.
Just me, and 36 gears.
No passengers again.
Took my son to the pictures at 6 years old.
And even that was about the road.
It was ‘77, and that was it. 
To quote it, well, we ain’t got time for that crap.

Snowstorm comin’, time to fly.
Tires chained, time to say goodbye.
If those office chairs only knew
What it’s been like for me and Blue.
Hit the ground running, never looked back.
Here I am now, stopped dead in my tracks.
Dressed to match, but who’s to care? 
Reached for the radio, but no one’s there.

Clockwork calls from my daughter each night.
She’s blazed her trail in city light.
My son has my name, and has filled my shoes.
And he still has the keys to Blue.
They took my card, but can’t take my bow.
You’ll find me up a mountain, the world far below.
The call of the wild, the call of the road - 
I know them both, and I will go.

CHORUS

Lyrics

Entirely written, performed, mixed, & illustrated by me.

How it Happened

On the way to the 2026 Iowa80 Truckers Jamboree, I was inspired to come up with a poem based on a friend. On my own in the car, with my Apple Watch on my wrist, the lines were dictated as they came to me, right into my watch. By time I got to the hotel, I had realized this poem was actually going to be lyrics to a song that now needed written.

Back home after the show, the notes needed organized, as the dictation threw them all out of order. Then it was time to come up with a melody, which began at my piano. With melody & chords figured out (for the most part), I jumped straight into attempts to record it. My digital keyboard lived on the kitchen table for a few days, plugged into my laptop. It sounded like garbage in the recording, so a friend suggested an interface. I ordered it, and a microphone...and booked the piano tuner to come ASAP.

The freshly-tuned piano was recorded with the brand new equipment. Did I mention this was a huuuuuge “learning as I go” scenario?? Next up, recording 2 different guitars. Gretsch 5420 & Martin D-35. Then it needed a bass line. The 1 friend who knew about the project had lent his out. So of course I just went and bought one for myself. A lefty obviously needs a violin bass like Paul McCartney. But the cheap Rogue VB100 needed a setup at my local guitar shop. They got it done for me quickly, and I recorded it in one take. I didn't know what I was doing, so I figured it couldn't get any better!

I wanted a friend to record a lap steel line, but he couldn't hear how it would fit. Admittedly, the track was way slower when he heard it. It all started out at 120bpm. Far too slow. Anyhow, so I bought a lap steel. But I couldn't figure it out fast enough, so I got the Gretsch back out, laid it in my lap so I could play individual notes easier (it's the pianist in me), and did my best. I am very much NOT a guitarist. It took many many many attempts.

After all that, I finally determined it was too slow. So I re-recorded everything…thus is life! By then, the piano had fallen out of tune enough that I couldn’t re-record it and be happy. So that track is sped up with the software I used for editing. Again, this was all a lot of learning!

Since I have no self-control, I bought a Telecaster. The final electric rhythm guitar you hear is that. Instead of plugging into the interface, I used a massive old Fender amp we have sitting around. My husband is a great drummer, and has all the equipment needed for a whole band to gig. Convenient! The amp is so big, it was turned to 2 for the recording!

Mixing. Lots of Googling. Lots of trial and error. Listening through 2 headsets, AirPods, and the sound systems of 3 different vehicles. Through a great friend, I also had the wild opportunity to listen through a $750,000 sound system. That was pretty incredible! (Thanks, Paul!)

The final result is not perfect, but I did the best I could without employing outside help. Someday, I hope to have it all done professionally - by someone who actually knows what they’re doing.

Thanks for listening (and reading).