Since this weekend is a celebration of Vaisakhi, the Indian harvest festival and holy day of the Sikhs, I thought I’d do something a bit different and feature some of my collection of Punjabi trucker songs. They are in the Bhangra style and can rightfully be considered a subgenre, as there’s so many of them. Do a search on YouTube and you’ll see what I mean. They come in two flavours, Indian and North American and are very popular with North American truckers. I’ve provided examples of both.
The songs often have a comedic element based on the 'husband-wife' duos of traditional folk music, but the North American videos found on YouTube are often way over the top, featuring some poor guy who has to leave his gorgeous wife and 4,000 sq ft home to go make some money. He then arrives at work in his late model BMW, hops in his brand new $250,000 Peterbilt, and off he goes on the “long route.” Funny as all hell because in over 20 years of working with these guys I’ve never once seen them driving either vehicle. Pure fantasy. You can always dream though, right?
The truth is a little different. These guys work long hours for low pay, which is why I chose “Hero’s of the Nation” as the first song which speaks about this in the context of the pandemic, when we were considered “essential workers.” Not so much anymore, especially since some of us stood up to the tyranny, but that’s a tale for another day.
I think of these songs as Punjabi Country and Western, since the themes are similar and the audience is basically the same, just a different country. They make great driving songs as they’re lively and help keep you alert. So sit back, or better yet, head out on the highway and enjoy a selection of Punjabi trucker songs, which I’m guessing most of you are hearing for the first time.
As mentioned, some of these songs have an element of fantasy, such as becoming rich from just driving a truck, like that’s ever going to happen. Once in a while reality slips through, so here’s Gogi Thandi to tell you what it’s really like. I used to run the same route myself, so this one has a special place for me.
Speaking of special places, this program is as much a tribute to the person who first introduced me to this music as it is to the music and drivers themselves.
Bali K Deol, AKA Lady ‘B’ has been hosting Swarag Radio from 1pm to 3pm on Fairchild Radio since 2000, which is when I first started tuning in, and while full-time Punjabi station Red FM has appeared since she first began, her popularity is so great they don’t even bother playing music opposite her. If you tune in then all you’re likely to hear is a talk show. Now that’s popularity!
