Roll On is the eighth studio album of country music band Alabama, released in 1984.
All four singles released from this album reached Number One on the Hot Country Singles chart: "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)", "When We Make Love", "If You're Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)" and "(There's A) Fire in the Night". Music videos were made for "I'm Not That Way Anymore" and "(There's A) Fire in the Night".
The album was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
"Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)" is a song written by Dave Loggins, and recorded by American country music band Alabama. It was released in January 1984 as the first single and title track to the band's album Roll On. It was the group's 12th straight No. 1 single on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart.
"Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)" was Alabama's contribution to an honored tradition in country music: the tribute to the American truck driver. Here, the story is that of a man who drives an over-the-road semitrailer truck to support his wife and three children.
As the story begins, the man (referred to only as "Daddy") leaves for a several-day trip through the Midwest. When the children gather around their mother in sadness, she says all they need to do is remember the song their father had taught them ("Roll on highway, roll on along, roll on Daddy 'til you get back home, roll on family, roll on crew, roll on mama like I asked you to do"); those lyrics serve as the refrain of the song.In some versions,the song begins with a CB radio call saying "How about ya,Alabama,Roll On",which was recorded from an actual CB call placed to Alabama's bus in the late 70s.
When the neon lights shine down,
and there's no one else around,
whatcha gonna do when the clock strikes two,
and all the freaks come out,
On the ave....
When the neon lights shine down,
and there's no one else around,
whatcha gonna do when the clock strikes two,
and all the freaks come out,
On the ave....
When you're on the ave...
Now I got a reason for breathin,
goodbye Hollywood and hello Cleveland.
I didn't tell my girl I was leavin,
packed my bags, jumped in the Lincoln.
Suicide doors more to the meaning,
Four on the floor, three on the tree and,
I'm doin' speed on the 405 freeway,
Officer give a white boy some leeway.
Downtown with the he-say she-say,
Dont mean nothin cause the he-she's cliche.
Downtown where your dreams just decay,
$40 for a ? $20 for a BJ
But uptown they play my CD's
Girls wanna fuck me, boys wanna be me.
Who's Mickey, she said, and smiled in a special way.
When the neon lights shine down,
and there's no one else around,
whatcha gonna do when the clock strikes two,
and all the freaks come out,
On the ave....
When you're on the ave...
Now I'm gonna keep on creepin'
Latchkey kids gettin' high all weekend.
Lookin past the hood of my Fleetwood,
Jesus on the dash and the king on the speaker.
You can find me in the back of the theater like
Pee Wee Herman, holdin my weiner.
I ain't seen her since the milk went bad
and I didn't mean to beat her is what I told her dad..
Round town it's a stone cold fact,
Avalon got a gun in his lap.
Round town you can hear the clap,
when I take the stage, and shake my ass.
Out of town you can feel the heat,
when my bus pulls up and steals your freaks.
Out of town you can feel the noise,
come on girls, rock your boys!
When the neon lights shine down,
and there's no one else around,
whatcha gonna do when the clock strikes two,
and all the freaks come out,
On the ave...
When you're on the ave...
When the neon lights shine down,
and there's no one else around,
whatcha gonna do when the clock strikes two,
and all the freaks come out,
On the ave....
When you're on the ave...
Now I'm gonna speak on freedom,
do what you like fuck other people.
They tell you what you're supposed to do,
how about your girl do me, and you do you.
Now kick rocks before you get shot,
in the back of the head all you heard was POP
Goes to weasel cause the weasel smoke rock,
Hypodermic needle paramedic on the block.
Chop your body up, drop it off the dock,
why you gotta go and call the mothafuckin cops?
It's too late babe it could've been great,
but you had to go and stab me in the back with a steak knife.
Late night, waste away,
Chain smokin' til the drapes turn grey.
Cocaine helps me face the day,
and then the pills wash the pain away.
I won't be blamed for your mistakes,
burned at the stake,
for God's sake.
When the neon lights shine down,
and there's no one else around,
whatcha gonna do when the clock strikes two,
and all the freaks come out,
On the ave....
When you're on the ave...
When the neon lights shine down,
and there's no one else around,
whatcha gonna do when the clock strikes two,
and all the freaks come out,
On the ave....