Byrds, The - Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man Lyrics
He's a drug store truck drivin man
He's the head of the Ku Klux Klan
When summer rolls around
He'll be lucky if he's not in town
He plays country records till you've had your fill
He's a fireman's friend, he's an all night DJ
But he sure does think different from the records he plays
He's a drug store truck drivin man
He's the head of the Ku Klux Klan
When summer rolls around
He'll be lucky if he's not in town
Well he don't like the young folks I know
He's got him a medal he won in the war
Weighs five hundred pounds and sleeps on his floor
He's a drug store truck drivin man
He's the head of the Ku Klux Klan
When summer rolls around
He'll be lucky if he's not in town
He's been like a father to me
He's the only DJ you can hear after three
I'm an all night musician in a rock 'n' roll band
And why he don't like me, I can't understand
He's a drug store truck drivin man
He's the head of the Ku Klux Klan
When summer rolls around
He'll be lucky if he's not in town
Other Lyrics by Artist
- Byrds, The - Kathleen's Song
- Byrds, The - Hungry Planet
- Byrds, The - Yesterday's Train
- Byrds, The - All The Things
- Byrds, The - Truck Stop Girl
- Byrds, The - Chestnut Mare
- Byrds, The - Eight Miles High
- Byrds, The - Mr. Spaceman
- Byrds, The - Mr. Tambourine Man
- Byrds, The - So You Want To Be A Rock'N'Roll Star
- Byrds, The - Just A Season
- Byrds, The - Take A Whiff On Me
- Byrds, The - Absolute Happiness
- Byrds, The - I Wanna Grow Up To Be A Politician
- Byrds, The - Citizen Kane
- Byrds, The - Tunnel Of Love
- Byrds, The - I Trust
- Byrds, The - Pale Blue
Rand Lyrics
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Byrds, The Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man Comments
Nashville was being ' invaded ' by non-Country artists along about the time of the Byrds run in with ' Mister Smartass '. Namely Jack Palance - Walter Brennan - John Denver -& Olivia Newton John- ET AL
An USA as trump came
He wrote this about a colleague he didn’t like, a Klans man
Remember this was the sixties
Rules were different then ....
Gram wrote this
Here is Roger Mcguinn and Ralph Emery together in 1985 where they talk about this song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iq_6vRtJDQ
Stuck it right up the ass of pseudo country.
Daniel Carver?
Thank God some still manifest the truth and expose those whom are so afraid of it.
I prefer GPs version but still sounds great here.
Ralph used to fuck Shotgun Red like Putin fucks Trump
stunning album, not a good cover
roger mcguinn is a registered republican.....he realized how stupid it was to be democrat
Written by Roger and Gram .
As I recall, Ralph Emery hated the Byrds when they appeared on The Grand Ol' Opry and made it clear to them that he did. That, I think is what this is all about.
I love Joan Baez’s and Jefferey Shurtleff’s rendition but I love me some byrds
Party on !!
this one's for you Ralph
There was a lot of hate toward us long hairs back then, bigotry on steroids. This song reflected that intolerance and hypocrisy with a sardonic smile. If you expose something, bring to light, that which is wrong and small minded it can have the power to encourage self reflection and change. That is why we demonstrated, and people still demonstrate, to effect a change and evolution.
Exactly,,, if you were alive and active at the time this came out, you would remember the political atmosphere that brought about protest music to begin with,.Nothing wrong with poking the bear
Fuck you, hippie.
Antifa does it wrong.
Written in response to Ralph Emery's rudeness to the Byrds when they performed at the Opry.
Having long hair in a southern town was dangerous. Cops planted pot on friends of mine because white freaks and black freaks were running around together. They ended up with criminal records. This was 71 or 72 and pot was like heroin back then.
Hendrix would drop everything at a chance to see the Byrds' guitar player Clarence White play any chance he got as well as drummer Gene Parsons who is one of the great guitar makers in the country,some idiots with zero knowledge of music have called them no-names, hard to believe.
fuck em....that makes US cool.
Clarence was a genius.
Jason and the Scorchers do a great cover of this
A discerning lyrical appreciation of a man that was out acted by a chimpanzee in 'Bedtime For Bonzo' And you are surprised the US electorate put Trump in the White House?
Had nothing to do with Reagan
Won't get Fooled again'.....oh well.
I can't believe how everything gets turned into an argument these days. STFU and enjoy the music..
YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP. I'LL FIND YOU.
Ralph burned Graham's body after Graham died, so ralph got the last word on Graham.
It's Gram , and I don't think so , it was Phil
You're joshing, of course. Gram's road manager, Phil Kaufman, did the deed.
@William Burke well i I'm wrong then.
Buncha hippies....
I was a big fan of the Byrds before discovering this hateful song. It's nothing more than a sneak up behind you sucker punch.
@ Noah....Typo. Sir, you're embarrassing yourself. I have stated and proven my point. Go away.
One Inch.... The only point you have proven is that you have one on top of your head.
@ Noah.....WTF? Are you still here? You're ranting and raving about a songs lyrics that offend you? Dude let it go. Get a life, go away.
I assure you that this song is very satirical and in no way literal
You are triggered by a song that McGuinn wrote about a guy who hated the Byrds being on the bill of the Grand Ole Opryland.Geez get a life
A lot of people think this song was about President Reagan because the way Joan Baez mentioned him at Woodstock before her duet of this great song. Like everyone mentions below it is about R. Emery.
GREAT MUSIC...LOVED IT...
Trump should use this as his majestic theme song
@linda from ga How can you say something so baseless and stupid? I assume you have nothing to back up your terribly ignorant statements. How sad.
@linda from ga You're calling someone a nazi, but then asserting that he should be imprisoned over unfounded crimes? How ironic.
Maybe Obama should, hon. After all he constantly sucked up to KKK Byrd as well as Farrakhan.
@linda from ga yeah, maybe the day after Obama, Hillary, Bernie, and Pelosi are swinging from the cottonwoods.
@linda from ga go take your meds, dummy.
Who is/was Ralph? I see the name Ralph Emery below. Who is this person?
What was his CMT show? NASHVILLE NOW?
He was also a wife beater.
I believe they might be tipping their hat to Ralph Stanley. Who is a legend in country/bluegrass.
The Audience thought the Band was making fun of them
he dead
head of the ku klux klan ?
Ralph Emery = bigot.
This song was based on an unpleasant on-air exchange between The Byrds and Ralph Emery on his WSM radio show in 1968. Emery expressed outright hostility towards the group, for instance, sarcastically asking them if they got their draft cards yet, and even going as far as saying "Men in country music don't have long hair. If you want to be here, you need to go to the barber shop" and accusing them of desecrating a sacred institution (referring to a recent performance at the Grand Ole Opry, where The Byrds were greeted with hostility from some members of the audience).
I would love to hear that radio show.
Read below.
this is the closest they ever came to sounding like the BURRITOS at their best! killer track
Yep, I agree.
But they were way tres better than the Burritos, despite Chris Hillman being with the latter at the time. McGuinn towers above Parsons. Ask Dylan.
@Paddy Hannerexcept when Parsons joined the Byrds and they made Sweethearts of the Rodeo.
fuck ralph emery
R. McGuinn and a bunch of Byrd no one knows the names of, or remembers. Great song, however. Gram did it much better. He sang it with pure conviction!
My favorite anti-racist song, though!
Saw Kinky at ATX the other day. I waved,he waved back. Old school stick together.
A national treasure.
David Crosby was an original Byrd and played on this song, he's done a few things since (more then Roger McG), even though he's a grade A asshole
Clarence White was one of the greatest guitarists in rock history. It was Roger's song & Gram added a few lyrics, thus the co-writer credit for Gram, cuz Roger's that kind of awesome human. I don't know why people turn these things into contests. And, no, I don't think Gram did it better if ya wanna make it a contest. Music ain't a football game.
@RayNDeere Clarence was a phenomenal flat-picker. There are now lots of good YouTube videos of him flat-picking. So tragic how his life was cut short.
Its Clarence White with a palm pedal....
@Peter Elfant It's White on the telecaster B bender but also Loyd Green on steel pedal. listen to the extro at the end of the song. there both playing together
Great song!
this track's ideal for practicing the box step.
Lloyd Green - pedal steel guitar on "Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man" I thought it might be Sneaky Pete, but it a'int
Sounds like Sneaky Pete.
@eight inches Sneaky Pete was in Flying Burrito Bros from 68 -71. This song was recorded in 69. Lloyd Green was a Nashville studio musician and credited on this album. Green also played on Sweet heart of the
rodeo. I agree very similar styles. Enjoy!!
+broncobrian Sneaky was a little more cosmic, I guess. He used a fuzz tone on the PS sometimes.
Very country, a beautiful song :)
my favorite Byrds album.
Hey Lightning...a lovely altho disjointed album, and the incomparable Lloyd Green on his Shobud single neck ten string steel guitar,,,we're featuring this tune in July on a night of Gram Parsons-related material at The Cinema, (so yes, Sweethearts-era Byrds, Burritos, and assorted Parsons tunes), and I believe young songwriter Nick Lampone will be covering this racist ditty...can't wait. Hey we hav Marty Rifkin on stel!
Who plays the steel on this?
Pete Drake
It's Lloyd Green. Jaydee Maness also on the album, but this track's LG. Pete Drake was nowhere near this record. As the album liner notes, Wikipedia, AllMusic (& common knowledge among musicians) all = Lloyd Green - where would anyone get the idea Pete Drake appears here?
Puur, vocaal en muzikaal een ondergewaardeerde band. Nog steeds onvergetelijk.