"Wreck on the Highway" tells the story of an automobile accident, with implication of alcohol abuse ("whiskey and blood run together") and moral religious language ("Their soul has been called by the Master...
The best-known version was recorded by Roy Acuff And His Smoky Mountain Boys in Hollywood in 1942.
[2][3] Bill Haley and the 4 Aces of Western Swing recorded a cover in 1949 that went unreleased until the 1977 LP Golden Country Origins.
[7] The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band included the song on their 1972 album Will the Circle be Unbroken; Roy Acuff took the lead vocal.
[10][11] The two songs have the same title, same theme (the singer coming across a fatal highway crash), and same mood (gloomy, reflective), although the lyrics and melodies are altogether different.