Nearly Two Decades Later, Brad Paisley Continues The Story Of ‘Mud on the Tires’ With New Single, ‘Truck Still Works’

Every Brad Paisley fan is familiar with “Mud On the Tires,” the title track to his third studio album that became a No. 1 single in 2005. Now, nearly two decades later, he’s paying tribute to one of his biggest hits with a sequel to the iconic love story in “Truck Still Works.”

This era marked the start of Paisley’s iconic career. He was fresh off his first two albums and had a blank canvas for his next project. Fans had already seen a few different sides of the country star’s songwriting abilities, so when it came time to write a few new tracks, he wanted to really hone in on his love for the country lifestyle. In his eyes, “Mud On The Tires” was incredibly influential not only for his career but for the country genre as a whole. 

“I think that’s a major part of what country music has become…I don’t know how many truck songs were prior to that, but after that, there were a bunch,” Paisley told Country Now and other outlets. 

Continuing The Heartfelt Narrative

The original song chronicles the joy a man is feeling after picking up the keys to a “brand new Chevrolet.” With this newfound independence, he takes his love interest out for a drive to the middle of nowhere and enjoys a romantic night under the stars. In the new narrative, we learn that the couple has gone their separate ways since that night, but Paisley’s rich vocals reveal that the spark might still be lingering all these years later. 

The idea to carry on this narrative started with Paisley’s co-writers, Will Bundy, Hunter Phelps, and Rodney Clawson, who pitched him the concept and the chorus. At first, he was careful not to overstep in his work on “Mud On The Tires” with Chris Dubois, but then the thought of creating something new out of something old started to really resonate with him.

Initially, it may seem like just another song about trucks, but when Paisley delivers the closing line of the first verse, “How ’bout a little test drive/ Down by the lake,” it becomes clear it’s actually a sequel, as those same lyrics are featured in “Mud on The Tires.”

“Even though sonically it’s reminiscent, that’s the moment when you hear that,” Paisley explains of the well-known lyrics. “You go, ‘oh, I think I know what he’s doing.’ And I think what was really fun was saying, ‘no step on it. Come on, let’s step all over it. Let’s do this thing.’ And then the trick is how much do you do? We could have filled it up with references, but we tried to make sure there’s enough new as well.”

A New Story Unfolds Between Two Former Lovers

“Truck Still Works” finds the West Virginia native noticing that his former love interest is back in town. While catching up, the woman asks about that old “short-bed Chevy” that they made so many memories in back in the day. The character proudly lets her know that he hadn’t sold it, that it’s still “in the barn out back” and that they should see if they can get it to start.

He continues to make references to the early hit as he sings about driving out to “that place” in the same truck, and seeing if “the dirt road” has since been paved or if the moonlight still shines as bright from the shoreline. With any luck, everything will be the same and they might get the tires stuck in the mud all over again. 

“Let’s see if that truck still works/ Let’s see if that song still sings/ Let’s see if them miles of corn/ Still got that shade of green/ Let’s see if we can find that place/ I used to know about/ Let’s see if they paved that old dirt road/ That used to run out/ Find out if that dogwood limb/ Is still there to hang our shirts/ If you ain’t got nothin’ else to do tonight/ Let’s see if that truck still works,” Paisley sings on the chorus. 

Sonic Similarities

Listeners will hear a similar groove throughout the beginning tune, but as the song goes on, it starts to evolve into a newer sound. Paisley also puts his epic guitar skills to use with a distinct chord inversion at the very end that he hasn’t done with any other song, except for “Mud On The Tires.”

“The groove starts out very ‘Mud on the Tires,’ but by the second verse, there’s this really this droney different base part, like my bass player on the second verse played with a pick through a different amp and a different entire bass so that the second verse has this sort of more raw rock underbelly. It’s so different from the first verse,” he explained. 

The First Taste of A New Album

Brad Paisley is already brainstorming a concept for a music video that would continue to honor his early work and bring nostalgia to his fans. This is just a taste of what’s to come, as “Truck Still Works” is one of many songs he has written lately in anticipation of his next album. 

“The first song was easy to single because it sums it up and that’s not always the case. A lot of times I’ll start a project and the last thing to we figure out is what to release first. Maybe that’s why I haven’t even done an album in years is because it’s like, we never could really find the way to put your best foot forward where everything lined up. It felt like that’s not only the right thing to say first, but it’s also what people probably want…we were able to luckily get rolling because of this song. I can’t think of a better thing to release, especially right now because there’s nothing more complicated than the nostalgia of it.”

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While not every track will be a nod to one of his early hits, Paisley teased that there will “definitely” be a few more Easter eggs placed throughout the collection.

“Not everything on here will be that way, but there’s definitely some other things. Some are obvious, some are not, but even the ones that aren’t obvious, somebody’s going to pick up on that. And if anything, the palette for the whole thing is a return to some of this familiar territory a little bit, both sonically and thematically…it’s fun to throw a few things in like that. And there are songs that exist completely on their own, but I think stylistically, it’s definitely dust off the old stomp box that I’ve plugged into for whatever song and play that again.”

The new song features the original single’s writers, Paisley and Chris Dubois, along with Will Bundy, Hunter Phelps, and Rodney Clawson. It officially impacts country radio today, September 30, just days after the country star debuted his nostalgic tune during the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards.