The Real Meaning Behind Drive By Alan Jackson

Publish date: 2024-05-08

As hinted in the subtitle, "Drive (For Daddy Gene)" is an ode to Alan Jackson's father, Eugene Jackson, who died in 2000, per The Boot. Jackson told Billboard in December 2001 that he wanted to write a tune for his pops, but did not want the track to be "some sad dying song." He told The Boot that his father's funeral taught him a lesson because he learned how beloved his father was by the community. "I think I learned more about my daddy when he died more than I did when he was alive," Jackson said.

"Drive" has a clear message in its simple lyrics. "Daddy didn't say much, [but one of] the things he really gave me is my love for cars, and this whole song is a bunch of facts," Jackson told Billboard.

The track tells a story in three acts. In the first verse, a young Jackson recalls buying a secondhand boat with his dad. "It was 18 feet from the bow to stern light ... I rode up with Daddy when he went there to get her." Verse two re-lives the times Jackson drove as a kid with his father. "He'd let me drive her when we'd haul off a load," he sings. The third verse brings the family tale full-circle as Jackson lets his own children drive. "I'm grown up now, three daughters of my own / I let them drive my old Jeep," he croons.

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