Often I enjoy listening to hard-driving fast bluegrass music, but I also appreciate a good story song. One of my favorites, featuring great harmony singing, is Widow Maker by Jimmy Martin.
The song tells the story of a truck driver who kisses his wife goodbye before heading out on the road. When a vehicle full of young people blocked the road ahead, the truck driver swung his truck off the road to save the kids:
“One life for ten,has always been
a diesel driver’s code.
That’s why Billy
swung that Widow
Maker off the road”
I couldn’t help but think of the song after hearing about the horrific accident on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge a couple of weeks ago. John Short, the driver of an 18-wheeler, swung his truck off the bridge and plummeted into the Chesapeake Bay in order to save the lives of others. He died a hero’s death.
Note: This article was originally published at The Low-Tech Times.
