Whos Ready!? #19. Four Night Rider By: Rural Alberta Advantage One thing I love about music is its attitudes; some calm us, while others ignite motion. This one particularly compels ‘Movement,’ not that it doesn’t necessarily follow any of truck songs underlining themes; such as, ‘Home,’ ‘Love One’s,’ or ‘Religion.’ This song embodies the blatant themes of trucking, as in those that are associated with the profession. “Four night Rider,” by Rural Alberta Advantage nonetheless should be consider an essential ‘traveling’ song, and it has found it’s way on to this tough list of mine. This Canadian band with its distinctive folk drummer adds to that unexplainable angst that is so commonly felt in travel. The interesting facts of the commercial trucking industry, is that after the trailer is loaded at any shipper, and that dead time sitting is over. There is nothing more the driver wants than to get on the highway and go, but that is not the reality of a professional driver. There are state inspection stations and weight stations along the way that force drivers to uphold the highest levels of maintenance and safety while on the road, or else be fined. This means the driver must take the time, and scale in at a fuel stations or truck stops, and be sure that all permits, weights and truck equipment are to code. This personal inspection can feel like eternity---much like reading this last paragraph---This song is on this list, because it is the pulse, which lied beneath my twitching clutch foot as I sat in red lights and behind lines at scales. Then that moment comes as I clear the limits of the city, and dropped the window down, and let the wind lick my face. I’m ready, ready to embrace whatever was out there ahead---feet dancing on the floor mats and hands clenching the wheel. “I’ve got to try!” This song in its entirety, including the lyrics, holds a special place in my heart. In fact, it was one of my good friends’ from Alberta who introduced the music to me---take it, at first I didn’t embrace it, and then the Musicians took over my life. And every time I listen, I daydream of my time spent there with the gods and goddesses of Edmonton (Canada’s Mt. Olympus)---Since I happen to have been one of the few truckers who had a passport and a willingness to go to Canada. I can attest to the exaggeration that it’s about a four-night drive between nearly every major Canadian city. Of course, that’s not at all true, but when you leave Winnipeg heading for Edmonton in the dead of winter, across dead grain fields, time warps. Thank God, for this song capturing the excitement and energy of nearing the orange glow of Prairie Metropolises. Don’t believe me; go for a night drive this winter.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 06:24:23 +0000
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