Luke Bryan – “We Rode in Trucks”
Let’s start with the obvious. This theme has been absolutely done to death in recent years, such that even genuinely good nostaligic songs sound tired and boring. Despite this context, Luke Bryan’s latest release is the finest example of a nostalgic song that I’ve heard since Alan Jackson’s “Remember When.”
After hearing Bryan’s debut single, I thought that he could swing either way and wasn’t sure whether he’d become a traditionalist or a rocker. His second single suggests that he may choose the traditionalist route. A lot of young artists would interpret this as a redneck anthem, but Bryan’s recording is tender and almost regretfully yearnful in its nostalgia. Lines like “you either lived on a farm or wished you did” have an elegant simplicity and are delivered with evocative sincerity. This song could be full of cliches in the hands of a less capable artist, but a strong interpretation and neo-traditional arrangement make it sound more like plain-spoken truth.
Listen: Luke Bryan – We Rode in Trucks
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10 Comments
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October 3, 2007 at 11:54 pm Permalink
I lived on a farm and wished I didn’t. Where does that leave me?
October 4, 2007 at 12:27 am Permalink
Bitter?
October 4, 2007 at 4:14 am Permalink
I was surprised by how much I liked Luke Bryan’s record. I was expecting it to be horrible and it wasn’t. This ia good choice for a second single.
October 4, 2007 at 7:07 am Permalink
I’ve heard his record as well, and it was a good debut IMO. I really liked the song on it called “The Car In Front of Me” (I think that’s what it was called).
October 4, 2007 at 8:28 am Permalink
“Bitter?”
Oh yes.
October 4, 2007 at 8:45 am Permalink
“The Car In Front Of Me” is a good song but it will be better to make that the 3rd or 4th single instead of the second one.
October 4, 2007 at 9:57 am Permalink
“The Car In Front Of Me” is a great example of my latest pet peeve, which is what I like to call “Let’s Write That!” songs.
I can just imagine the one of the writers saying something offhand about the car in front of him in traffic and the other saying, “Let’s write that! The first verse can be about a parade, then the second one can be something else and the third can be a funeral procession! Let’s write that!”
October 4, 2007 at 11:24 am Permalink
Haha Never thought of it that way; but I could definitely see it happening. I liked Luke’s record, but I have to say that “All My Friends Say” is a painful song.
October 4, 2007 at 1:29 pm Permalink
this song isn’t all bad, and in fact, I don’t find “all my friends say” to be painful, but catchy in a good way. The most annoying trend to me in the “Let’s write that!” genre is the “down home, fried chicken, iced tea, sunday church, ol’ mr. wilson next door” category. Luke Bryan’s new song comes close, but “these are my people” “mayberry” “what i like about sunday” and many many others are just plain scary and formulaic.
October 4, 2007 at 5:30 pm Permalink
This is a good record, but songs like “Pray about Everything” and “I’ll Stay Me” kinda hold it back.
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