(by Daniel Kortchmar)
I've witnessed those one night stands
Must have played in a thousand bands
But I'm just here tonight, tomorrow I'll be gone
Seen folks show their blacker sides
Seen them die just for foolish pride
And those drivers always ask to hear that same old song
That's a big ten-four
From your back door
Just put that hammer down
This young man feels
Those eighteen wheels
That keep turning 'round to take me down to Shaky Town
I've heard all those hard luck tales
From all of you U.S. males
I've heard you tell those lies about the love you've know
And I've followed those highway signs
And I've run down those thin white lines
Like those drivers this old road is all I call my own
That's a big ten-four
From your back door
Just put that hammer down
This young man feels
Those eighteen wheels
That keep turning 'round to take me down to Shaky Town
(c) 1978 KORTCHMAR MUSIC [ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/jackson_browne/shaky_town.html ]
Shaky town: san francisco
10-4: i hear you over radio loud and clear
back door: person behind you watching for police from behind
put the hammer down: hit the gas, go faster than the limit
eighteen wheels: a big rig has 18 wheels
Although jackson browne is famous as a liberal pop-folk singer, he played countless country music bars, and he's comparing himself in his period of nomadic touring to the truckers he sang to. Musicians often have to depend on touring to survive, and some broke musicians had to hitch rides with truckers.