The song "Theme for a Trucker" was written by Ryan Adams as a tribute to his friend Jere McIlwean, who had recently died from a heroin overdose. McIlwean (who had also been a bandmate of Adams in his pre-Whiskeytown days) was in a band named Trucker; hence the title of the song. Said Adams of McIlwean: "He’d hate that song so bad; he hated country. Well, he didn’t hate country music, but he didn’t like my version of it, anyway.”[3][4]
According to a 1997 article in No Depression magazine, Whiskeytown's cover of the True Believers' "The Rain Won't Help You When It's Over" almost made it onto this release. The song's inclusion was even lobbied for by its composer, Alejandro Escovedo.[5]
