Song #385: "Convoy" by C.W. McCall

Date: Jan 10, 1976
Weeks: 1

I feel like I need annotated lyrics to even understand what's going on here. I can interpret a lot of the trucker lingo by context, but I'm confused on a few points. First, I don't understand why the convoy of truckers is so hostile to the police. I understand a little resentment of speeding tickets, but the singer is describing driving through roadblocks. Second, I've deciphered most of the trucker lingo, but I'm confused about what they mean by "hogs." I'm guessing they don't mean motorcycles.

I can only find a few loose explanations gathered around the Internet. Wikipedia seems to be the gathering point for a lot of them. Apparently the truckers are mostly upset about the recently enacted 55-mph national speed limit and other trucking regulations. Oh! And "hogs" are a truckload of pigs. I guess I was analyzing too hard there.

I really like C.W. McCall's voice in this song. He's got a good, deep Johnny Cash country music voice. Mix that with the trucker-speak lyrics, and that's a fun time.

So it's a shame about that chorus.

It's not the lyrics I take issue with, it's the high-pitched chorus singing it that I don't like. It stands in contrast with McCall's deep, rich voice, and this is not a case where the complementary vocal styles create an enjoyable contrast. The chorus is something I have to endure to get back to another verse that I can enjoy.

And that extends to the music, too. The background music is a good country rock song through the verses, with a great mix of guitar, banjo, and drums. But then there's a string line that feels really out of place, and it takes over the sound during the chorus. It's like they started with a decent country song and weren't confident it could hold anyone's interest in the mid-70s, so they added a really wimpy 70s pop chorus to it.

My verdict: Don't like it. The overly 70s pop sound of the chorus completely undermines what is otherwise a decent enough country rock song.