Twenty-eight years ago today, on Dec. 17, 1994, Joe Diffie received an early Christmas present: It was on that date that his single “Pickup Man,” from his Third Rock From the Sun album, landed at the top of the charts, where it stayed for four consecutive weeks.
Joe Diffie Pickup Man
“Pickup Man,” written by Howard Perdew and Kerry Kurt Phillips, defends a man’s penchant for his pickup truck with cleverly crafted lines such as, “You can set my truck on fire and roll it down a hill / And I still wouldn’t trade it for a Coupe de Ville / I got an eight-foot bed that never has to be made / You know, if it weren’t for trucks we wouldn’t have tailgates / I met all my wives in traffic jams / There’s just something women like about a pickup man.” The song was the second one from Third Rock From the Sun to reach No. 1; Diffie’s previous single, the album’s title track, also landed in the top spot.
Although Diffie notched five No. 1 hits throughout his illustrious career, “Pickup Man” remains his most successful to date, and his only song to stay at No. 1 for so long. The tunesmith included “Pickup Man” on his 1998 Greatest Hits album, as well as his 2002 16 Biggest Hits record and 2011’s Playlist: The Very Best of Joe Diffie.
This story was originally written by Gayle Thompson, and revised by Annie Zaleski.
Well, I got my first truck when I was three / Drove a hundred thousand miles on my knees / Hauled marbles and rocks and thought twice before / I hauled a Barbie Doll bed for the girl next door / She tried to pay me with a kiss and I began to understand / There’s something women like about a pickup man
When I turned sixteen, I saved a few hundred bucks / My first car was a pickup truck / I was cruising the town and the first girl I seen / Was Bobbie Jo Gentry, the homecoming queen / She flagged me down and climbed up in the cab / And said, “I never knew you were a pickup man”
You can set my truck on fire and roll it down a hill / And I still wouldn’t trade it for a Coupe De Ville / I got an eight-foot bed that never has to be made / You know, if it weren’t for trucks we wouldn’t have tailgates / I met all my wives in traffic jams / There’s just something women like about a pickup man
Most Friday nights I can be found / In the bed of my truck on an old chaise lounge / Backed into my spot at the drive-in show / You know a cargo light gives off a romantic glow / I never have to wait in line at the popcorn stand / Cause there’s something women like about a pickup man
You can set my truck on fire and roll it down a hill / And I still wouldn’t trade it for a Coupe De Ville / I got an eight-foot bed that never has to be made / You know, if it weren’t for trucks we wouldn’t have tailgates / I met all my wives in traffic jams / There’s just something women like about a pickup man
A bucket of rust or a brand new machine / Once around the block and you’ll know what I mean
You can set my truck on fire and roll it down a hill / And I still wouldn’t trade it for a Coupe De Ville / I got an eight-foot bed that never has to be made / You know, if it weren’t for trucks we wouldn’t have tailgates / I met all my wives in traffic jams / There’s just something women like about a pickup man / Yeah, there’s something women like about a pickup man