Jason Isbell Covers Johnny Cash’s ‘All I Do Is Drive’ for ‘Ice Road’ Soundtrack

Jason Isbell revs up Johnny Cash’s trucker anthem “All I Do Is Drive” for the soundtrack to the new Netflix film The Ice Road. Both film and soundtrack are out now.

For his version, Isbell adopts Cash’s signature rhythm and fills out the arrangement with some extra rock & roll muscle in the form of lightly distorted guitars that match the walking patterns of the original. He also shifts it to a different key to account for the differences in their range. The end result has the feel of something that could’ve been a hit on Nineties country radio.

At its heart, it’s a song about a uniquely solitary kind of labor, aspects of which Isbell has explored in his own work. “I got nothin’ in common with any man who’s home every day at five,” he sings in the chorus.

The Ice Road soundtrack also includes Miranda Lambert covering Hank Snow’s “I’m Movin’ On,” Tim McGraw offering his version of the Cars’ “Drive,” and Carly Pearce singing Kathy Mattea’s “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses.” The film stars Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Marcus Thomas, and Laurence Fishburne.

Isbell’s contribution isn’t the only Cash-associated song on the soundtrack. The L.A. Rats — a metal supergroup of Rob Zombie, Nikki Sixx, John 5, and Tommy Clufetos — interpret the Hank Snow hit “I’ve Been Everywhere,” famously re-recorded by Cash for 1996’s Unchained.

The Ice Road track list: 

1. “All I Do Is Drive” – Jason Isbell
2. “Rubber Meets The Road” – Brantley Gilbert, Tyler Hubbard
3. “Eighteen Wheels and A Dozen Roses” – Carly Pearce
4. “I’ve Been Everywhere” – L.A. Rats
5. “We Got Fight” – Gary LeVox
6. “I’m Movin’ On” – Miranda Lambert
7. “Six Days On The Road” – The Cadillac Three
8. “Don’t Come Lookin’” – Jackson Dean
9. “Hurricane” – Luke Combs
10. “Heart Made Of Steel” – The Assassinzs feat. John Carter Cash, Robin Zander
11. “All Coming Down” – Mark Collie, Allison Moorer
12. “Drive” – Tim McGraw