Often I enjoy listening to hard-driving fast bluegrass music, but I also appreciate a good story song. One of my favorites, featuring great harmony singing, is Widow Maker by Jimmy Martin.

The song tells the story of a truck driver who kisses his wife goodbye before heading out on the road. When a vehicle full of young people blocked the road ahead, the truck driver swung his truck off the road to save the kids:

“One life for ten,has always been

a diesel driver’s code.

That’s why Billy

swung that Widow

Maker off the road”

I couldn’t help but think of the song after hearing about the horrific accident on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge a couple of weeks ago. John Short, the driver of an 18-wheeler, swung his truck off the bridge and plummeted into the Chesapeake Bay in order to save the lives of others. He died a hero’s death.

Note: This article was originally published at The Low-Tech Times.