keep on truckin’
Keep going with resilient forward motion despite difficulty.
By Cal Hewitt, Gen X · Researched from public sources · ·
What it actually means
Keep on truckin’ is a retro encouragement to persist. It did not begin as literal trucking talk: truckin’ came from Black dance and blues culture before R. Crumb’s 1968 comic popularized the slogan.
See the quick definition in the keep on truckin’ dictionary entry.
Where it came from
The Grateful Dead’s official history traces truckin’ to Harlem dance culture in the 1920s. It says R. Crumb brought Keep on Truckin’ into counterculture through a 1968 Zap Comix sequence illustrating Blind Boy Fuller lyrics.
No single person is credited, the origin is well-documented.
Where it's popular
U.S. counterculture, retro graphics, and informal encouragement
Crumb popularized rather than invented the phrase.
How it caught on
- 1920sTruckin’ was a Harlem dance move.
- 1920s to 1930sIt appeared in songs.
- 1968Crumb’s Zap Comix popularized Keep on Truckin’.
How to use it
“The build hit a snag, but we’ll keep on truckin’.”
Encouraging persistence.
“The poster’s big-footed walkers are a keep-on-truckin’ reference.”
Referring to Crumb’s imagery.
Common mix-ups
The phrase is not a trucking-industry invention and Crumb did not originate all of its underlying language.
Do you actually know it?
Truckin’ roots
0/31. What culture supplied truckin’ roots?
2. Who popularized the phrase in 1968?
3. What does it mean now?
Related slang
Questions people ask
What does keep on truckin’ mean?
Keep going despite setbacks.
Who popularized it in 1968?
R. Crumb.
What did truckin’ originally involve?
Black dance and blues culture.
Crumb’s 1968 sequence illustrated Blind Boy Fuller’s Truckin’ My Blues Away, connecting the slogan to earlier blues language.
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