Six Days on the Road

"Six Days on the Road" is an American song written by Earl Green and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio songwriter Carl Montgomery, made famous by country music singer Dave Dudley.

"[2] Allmusic writer Bill Dahl, called "Six Days" the "ultimate overworked rig driver's lament;"[1] indeed, the song's lyrics bemoan highway patrolmen, scale weigh-ins and loneliness for the narrator's girlfriend, and speak of using "little white pills" to keep him awake.

Like Malone, Dahl also cited Dudley's voice as perfect for the song, as "his bottomless pipes were certainly the ultimate vehicle for its delivery, reeking of too much turbid coffee and too many non-filtered cigarettes.

[3] Released in mid-May 1963, "Six Days on the Road" became Dudley's first major hit, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart that summer.

Others who have recorded "Six Days" include Charley Pride, Del Reeves, The Youngbloods, George Jones, Red Simpson, Nev Nicholls, Ferlin Husky, Boxcar Willie, Wolfman Jack, Motorpsycho, Red Sovine, Jim Croce, Steve Earle, George Thorogood, Michael Nesmith, the Flying Burrito Brothers, who are shown performing the song live in the movie Gimme Shelter, as well as Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels, blues guitarist Popa Chubby (for his 2008 album Vicious Country), New Riders of the Purple Sage, Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers, and Tom Petty's band Mudcrutch.