"East Bound and Down" is a song written by

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", "U.S. Male", " A Thi ...

and Deena Kaye Rose, and recorded by Reed for the soundtrack for the film ''

Smokey and the Bandit ''Smokey and the Bandit'' is a 1977 American road action comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams and Mike Henry. The directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham, the film follows ...

''. The song features Reed on the lead vocal, and vocalist Gordon Stoker of

the Jordanaires The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vocal ...

on the harmony vocal. It was released in August 1977 as a single on

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

. The song's lyrics tell the basic plot line of the movie (leaving out the runaway bride element) of making a 28-hour round-trip run from

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

, to

Texarkana, Texas Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States, in the Ark-La-Tex region. Located approximately from Dallas, Texarkana is a twin city with neighboring Texarkana, Arkansas. The Texas city's population was 36,193 at the 2020 censu ...

, and back to illegally transport 400 cases of Coors beer for an after-race celebration. The song spent 16 weeks on the U.S. country music charts, reaching a peak of No. 2. It also reached No. 3 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

. The "...and Down" in the title and lyric is

CB radio Citizens band radio (also known as CB radio), used in many countries, is a land mobile radio system, a system allowing short-distance person-to-many persons bidirectional voice communication among individuals, using two way radios operating on ...

jargon for "I'm finished transmitting, but still listening to the channel." " irectionbound and down" remains a common sign-off for

truckers A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driv ...

on CB radio.

Chart performance

Cover versions

* A variant version of the song, titled "West Bound and Down," was also recorded by Reed and included on the ''

'' soundtrack. This variant is played during the westbound portion of the movie. The lyric "East bound and down -- loaded up and truckin'" is changed to "West bound and down -- eighteen wheels a-rollin'." The music and the rest of the lyrics remain the same. * A cover was recorded in 2005 by Canadian country music group

The Road Hammers The Road Hammers are a Canadian country rock group composed of Jason McCoy, Clayton Bellamy and Chris Byrne. Formed by McCoy as a side project, the trio's music is influenced by 1960s and 1970s trucker music and Southern rock. Their first self-ti ...

. Other cover versions include

Aaron Tippin Aaron Dupree Tippin (born July 3, 1958) is an American country music singer, songwriter and record producer. Initially a songwriter for Acuff-Rose Music, he gained a recording contract with RCA Nashville in 1990. His debut single, "You've Got to ...

, Supersuckers,

Dave Dudley Dave Dudley (born David Darwin Pedruska; May 3, 1928 – December 22, 2003) was an American country music singer best known for his truck-driving country anthems of the 1960s and 1970s and his semi-slurred bass. His signature song was " Six Day ...

, and Tonic. * The song was recorded by punk rock cover band

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (often shortened to just Me First or the Gimmes) are a punk rock supergroup and cover band that formed in San Francisco in 1995. The band's lineup consists of Spike Slawson, Fat Mike, Joey Cape, and Dave Raun. Ch ...

on their sixth album, ''

Love Their Country ''Love Their Country'' is the fifth studio album, and sixth overall by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. It was released on October 17, 2006, by Fat Wreck Chords. The album consists of cover versions of country and western songs. Prior to its rele ...

''. * "East Bound and Down" was recorded by Jessy Lynn Martens for the TV series ''

Archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

'' under the pseudonym "Cherlene." * "East Bound and Down" was recorded by the Supersuckers on their 2005 album '' Devil's Food''. * "East Bound and Down" was performed by Midland at the 52nd

Country Music Association Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony ...

in 2018. The band now regularly includes the song in their live shows. * "East Bound and Down" was recorded by Po' Ramblin' Boys featuring Jason Carter & Bronwyn Keith-Hynes as a single in 2021. * The

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

revived the song's popularity as part of its F-Series truck advertisements in 2018, where a host of pickups from different years and towing various items, such as barbecue grills, a 1960s-era

Ford Bronco The Ford Bronco is a model line of sport utility vehicles manufactured and marketed by Ford. The first SUV model developed by the company, five generations of the Bronco were sold from the 1966 to 1996 model years. A sixth generation of the mo ...

, and a statue of the Big Boy mascot, is seen driving down the highway.

Notes

References

1977 singles Jerry Reed songs Songs written by Jerry Reed The Road Hammers songs Aaron Tippin songs Songs written by Deena Kaye Rose 1977 songs RCA Records singles Smokey and the Bandit Songs written for films Songs about alcohol Songs about truck driving {{1970s-country-song-stub