A trucking anthem
A new song by Jesse James Dupree salutes truck drivers for what they do for the nation and the economy.
The song, “It Didn’t Fall From the Sky,” reminds the general public that the everyday goods they rely on wouldn’t get to them without the daily sacrifices from truck drivers.
Best known as the lead singer for the rock band Jackyl, Dupree released the trucker-friendly country tune amid the COVID-19 pandemic in April.
“I was quarantined like everyone else. While we were asked to stay at home, truck drivers were being asked to get out there on the road and they had their hands tied behind their back with the restaurants and the travel centers being shut down and showers being hard to get,” Dupree told Land Line Now. “We all appreciate our first responders even when there isn’t a pandemic. … But I felt like there should be a little special acknowledgment to the guys out there who are pounding the asphalt in those big rigs and making sure the grocery stores and medical supplies (get stocked).”
Dupree doesn’t dance around the point. The video opens with images of 18 wheelers on the highway followed by a voice that says, “We are the heartbeat of this country. We feed this country.”
The lyrics are just as straightforward.
It didn’t fall from the sky
Or magically appear
It was brought here on his back
Shifting 10 hard gears
Countin’ 18 wheels and a
thousand pound stack
It didn’t fall from the sky
It was carried on his back
Dupree’s “It Didn’t Fall From the Sky” is an anthem for the truck driver – an idea that came to Dupree while self-isolating because of the pandemic. The song, which had nearly 125,000 views on YouTube by July 1, refers to truckers as “heroes” and “Trucking Uncle Sams.”
There’s a lonely stretch of
asphalt heat
There’s an 18-wheeler, 75 foot long
With a hero in the seat
He’s a trucking Uncle Sam
The trucking tune is the first song on Jesse James Dupree and Dixie Incorporated’s latest album, which was set to be released sometime this summer by Mighty Loud Records.
“The song came from a real honest place,” Dupree told Land Line Now. “Just as much as it is a tribute to truckers, it’s also a tribute to the great ’70s songs about truckers, like ‘Eastbound and Down.’”
Dupree said his dad used to haul steel and that he used to own a GMC cabover and drive his band all over the country.
“I have a connection with the truck drivers,” he said.
He added that he has a special appreciation for the small-business truckers and owner-operators.
“I think it’s going to be a shame if we don’t take a minute to acknowledge and preserve the independent truck driver,” he said. “I think they keep that ecosystem honest, so I have a passion for wanting to support our independent guys.”
Dupree started Jackyl in 1991 and is also well known for the TruTV reality series “Full Throttle Saloon.” LL
Land Line Now Senior Correspondent Scott Thompson contributed to this article.