In 1969 and early ’70, the Grateful Dead was on a grueling national tour and staying at budget hotels to save money. Their song, “Truckin’,” detailed the band’s travels—and their troubles—during those months.

Recorded for the Dead’s “American Beauty” album in September 1970, “Truckin’ ” was released two months later as an edited single and peaked at #64 on Billboard’s pop chart. When FM radio embraced the song’s longer album version, it became a counterculture anthem.

Recently, Bob Weir, the Grateful Dead guitarist and lead singer and the co-writer of “Truckin’,” talked about the song’s evolution. Mr. Weir was just named a U.N. Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador for world poverty and climate change, and his band, Dead & Company, will tour this fall. Edited from an interview.

Bob Weir: In the spring of 1970, the hardest thing about touring was getting up in the morning. We were young and full of fun, and we didn’t go to bed real early. We were on the road a lot, and our nightly “celebrations” probably made touring more difficult than it had to be (laughs). But that was the name of the game for us.

Our touring schedule in 1969 and early ’70 was relentless. We’d play a gig, stay up late and then fly to our next gig first thing in the morning. Most of the time, our equipment was trucked overnight to the next destination.