Colt Sterk’s “Grandpa’s Truck” features a simple, straight forward country arrangement. Its focus is not on musicianship, so much, as it is the song’s lyric. The song is all about a truck, and the life one man experiences in that truck.
What is most unusual about this song’s words, however, is how little it is about ‘grandpa,’ and how much it’s actually about the ‘truck.’ One might have rightfully expected more of these lyrics to be about the guy’s grandpa, and how much he associated his grandpa with this motor vehicle. Instead, Sterk sings about the greatness of his truck. He says he doesn’t really care where he goes. He says it only costs a couple bucks to fill the gas tank. He’s simply happy and has waited all week to drive it. He turns up the radio while driving the truck. In short, it’s his happy place.
Sonically, the song features just Sterk singing the song’s verses, but adds a female backing vocal on the chorus. It’s one of those big, ‘Wo-oh-oh’ classic rock-sounding choruses, too, which are so popular in today’s mainstream country music. The arrangement includes tasteful electric guitar and strings (or a keyboard string section).
Eventually, this lone truck driving man is joined by a girl, and they venture out on what is most likely the ultimate romantic date for a cowboy – a boy, a girl, and a truck. He sings, “Make this night/Something I’m gonna have to lie to mom about,” which suggests he’s going to be doing more than just hugging and kissing while in grandpa’s truck. However, he also sings about falling in love, although it’s difficult to tell if this is real love, or just lust. A guy shouldn’t ever need to lie to his momma about falling in love with a girl. However, in more conservative homes – such as the variety found out in the country – fornication is still a sin, and certainly something many young men have fibbed about to their moms. When he says he wants to “Make this night worth telling the boys back home about,” it’s obvious he wants to brag about the physical moves he’s going to make in this truck.
Trucks are, of course, a big deal out in the country. They’re also huge among country music fans. If you’ve ever been to a country music concert, you well know just how many trucks of nearly every variety – although mostly American made – are in the parking lot.
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The song ends with Sterk singing that he’s “falling in love with my Grandpa’s truck.” Sterk is a graduate from the UU Military Academy at West Point and is currently serving in the US Army as a Blackhawk pilot. However, this song sounds like one sung from a younger person’s point of view; a person still young enough to have a grandfather that drives a cool truck. One might justifiably assume Sterk is singing from a character’s point of view, or from his own point of view back when he was younger.
So, if you’re expecting something as emotionally gripping as Lee Brice’s “I Drive Your Truck,” you may be disappointed. That hit was about a guy who took over his brother’s truck, after he passed away. Everything about that vehicle reminds him of his brother. In fact, it could have easily been titled “Brother’s Truck.” This song, as good as it is, though, is mostly just about a much-loved truck.
-Dan MacIntosh
