The Philosophy of Smokey and the Bandit
Closing the gap between the man I am, and the man I’m capable of being, requires URGENCY.
Maybe not for some, and certainly not for the young. But for me, the flames of this Mid-Life Analysis burn brightest when I douse them with a daily dose of URGENCY.
When viewed incorrectly, urgency can elicit thoughts and feelings of anxiety and pressure, even depression. But when put in its proper light…URGENCY serves as the great fuel of achievement.
It is the motivating sense of mortality, the desire to stand for something greater, and the innate need to create a legacy of service and impact and purpose…to those young eyes watching your every move.
And for as much as I’d like to capture these feelings in the most articulate prose through which I am capable, so that maybe I can help you live this day (and in fact life) with URGENCY…perhaps no philosopher has ever captured the motivating spirit of a life lived with URGENCY, than Jerry Reed.
Jerry Reed, you know, “Snowman” from Smokey and the Bandit.
You know, right? C’mon now.
I’m afraid if you don’t know the Bandit, if you don’t know Big Enos, Little Enos and Buford T. Justice…you may not be qualified to join me on this Mid-Life Analysis.
But I will put my biases aside, and tell you what the heck I’m talking about.
Below I give you the lyrics to the song ‘East Bound and Down’, the theme song of the 1977 movie “Smokey and the Bandit”. The inspirational tale of two ordinary men (and one strong woman), charged with an extraordinary mission…to bring 400 cases of beer from Texarkana to Atlanta.
And before you start thinking “is there really such a place as Texarkana”…please read through these lyrics. Read through the lyrics and try to see what I have seen, the soul of a man living with a sense of URGENCY.
Enjoy.
And if you’d rather listen to the song, click here. But I warn you, this tune will be stuck in your head all day.
This glorious, motivating, get-busy-livin’ song, will be with you all day. I hope.
EAST BOUND AND DOWN – Jerry Reed
East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’,
We’re gonna do what they say can’t be done.
We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there.
I’m east bound, just watch ol’ “Bandit” run.
Commentary: It is often through personal reflection that we realize…we’ve got a long way to go, and a short time to get there!
Keep your foot hard on the pedal. Son, never mind them brakes.
Let it all hang out ’cause we got a run to make.
The boys are thirsty in Atlanta and there’s beer in Texarcana.
And we’ll bring it back no matter what it takes.
Commentary: Usually what holds us back, is our own selves…jamming on the “brakes”. Isn’t it?
Ol’ Smokey’s got them ears on and he’s hot on your trail.
He aint gonna rest ’til you’re in jail.
So you got to dodge ‘um and you got to duck ‘um,
You got to keep that diesel truckin’.
Just put that hammer down and give it hell.
Commentary: Put that hammer down and give it hell! Yes! Get some!
East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’,
We’re gonna do what they say can’t be done.
We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there.
I’m east bound, just watch ol’ “Bandit” run.
