I know we've had threads about the best music to drive to in the past, but have we had one about songs that are about driving or cars? Reason I ask is that I've just downloaded Chuck Berry's Anthology (sad I know, but I've been a fan of his since the late '50s and have lots on vinyl, but wanted some on CD for listening in the car) and it reminded me that there are some great songs which are just about cars or driving - eg "No money down" and "You Can't catch me" (lyrics at lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/n/nomoneydown.sht...l and
lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/y/youcantcatchme....l
Even better - a video of it!!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PoOZYoFuRs
not to mention "Route 66" (not written by him)
So do you have a favourite? -
And I'm not talking about songs that just mention driving (eg American Pie and its "drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry")
--
Phil
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Being a bit of a Gary Numan fan then it just has to be "Cars"
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Not sure what the lyurics are on about, but I like driving to the extended version of Kraftwerk's Autobahn. The bit I can understand means, I think, "we drive drive drive on the autobahn". Not too sure what other options are open, but it's a great late night driving song.
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Yeah, I heard that too... Germans are very proud of their autobahns, so they write songs about them.
Personally I like Celine Dion's "I Drove All Night" very much, originally created by Roy Orbison (I guess...).
Oh, and there's also a version by Cyndi Lauper. Nevertheless, all of them sound nice.
- - - - - - -
Free enterprise is the basis of western economy.
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The long straight road ahead, uh, huh.... I Drooooooooove All Niiiiiiiiight....
Sorry, forgot about the lyrics:
www.lyricsfreak.com/c/celine+dion/i+drove+all+nigh...l
- - - - - - -
Free enterprise is the basis of western economy.
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I like anything by Dick Curless with Curtis McPeake and The Nashville Pickers, but my favourite is Wolf Creek Pass. I know they're CB/trucking songs really but I like them.
--
L\'escargot.
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Just a few:
The Eagles
- Take it to the limit.
- Life in the fast lane.
The Beatles
- Baby you can drive my car
- The long and winding road
The Beach Boys
-Little Honda
-Fun Fun Fun (til her daddy took the T-Bird away)
-Little Deuce Coupe
America
-Ventura highway
The Doors
-Roadhouse blues
-Moonlight drive
The Stereophonics
-I stopped to fill my car up
There are so many more............
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A long, long time ago...
I can still remember
How that music used to make me smile.... 8< SNIP
Rest of Don McLean, American Pie lyrics can be found at tinyurl.com/yxzn2c - DD
madf
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>>And I'm not talking about songs that just mention driving (eg American Pie and its "drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry")
>>
Great song though and great lyrics "In a coat he borrowed from james dean, and a voice that came from you and me,"
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Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels
Looking back at the years gone by like so many summer fields
In sixty-five I was seventeen and running up one-o-one
I dont know where Im running now, Im just running on
*< SNIP
Rest of lyrics to Jackson Browne, Running On Empty can be found here. tinyurl.com/veg4n - DD
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Saw Chuck Berry Live in the old Capitol Theatre in Cardiff in the mid 70s. The guy was amazing.
His daughter was on stage with him (can't remember her name)
Those were the days when you could park in our Capital City. (motoring link)
--
Alyn Beattie
I\'m sane, it\'s the rest of the world that\'s mad.
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Going back a few years to the days of my youth, I remember a group of popular musicians called "Madness" who included in their repertoire a melodious little number entitled "Driving in my car."
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Can't believe no-one has mentioned Keep On Rollin' by Limp Bizkit! ;)
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I love trucking by Not the nine o clock news.
Where's my coat
--
Alyn Beattie
I\'m sane, it\'s the rest of the world that\'s mad.
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Best song about cars/ driving:
Roadrunner - Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers
Runner up:
Son of Mustang Ford - Swervedriver
What about the theme tune from Convoy?...
I'll get my coat too!
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The Cars - Drive.
(Who's gonna drive you home)
www.thisislittleclacton.co.uk/drive.htm
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The Cars, of course doh! How about Booker T and the MG's
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Well this car is automatic, it's systematic, it's hydromatic
Why it's greased lightnin'!
We'll get some overhead lifters, and four barrel quads, oh yeah
Keep talkin', whoah keep talkin'
Fuel injection cut off, and chrome plated rods, oh yeah
I'll get the money, I'll see you get the money
With a four-speed on the floor, they'll be waitin' at the door
You know that ain't poo - edit by DD when we'll be gettin' lots of tit in greased lightnin'
Go, greased lightnin', you're burnin' up the quarter mile
Greased lightnin', go greased lightnin'
Go, greased lightnin', you're coastin' through the heat lap trials
Greased lightnin', go greased lightnin'
You are supreme, the chicks'll cream for greased lightnin'
We'll get some purple French tail lights and thirty-inch fins, oh yeah
A palomino dashboard and duel muffler twins, oh yeah
With new pistons, plugs, and shocks, I can get off my rocks
You know that I ain't braggin', she's a real pussy wagon - greased lightnin'
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Strange that one word is censored, when another is allowed (edit by DD), also the lyrics are rather risque when you read them, it was a family film after all!
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"Strange that one word is censored, when another is allowed (edit by DD), also the lyrics are rather risque when you read them, it was a family film after all! "
The original Broadway musical was more hard-core, it was never meant to be family fun. Teenage drinking, fighting, pregnancy etc etc. I seem to remember the original director from the musical was supposed to do the film but was fired half-way through so that they could take it down the family route.
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Road to Hell - Chris Rea
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Road to Hell - Chris Rea
This song sums up the reality of the M25.
'Stood still on a highway'.... tinyurl.com/22rmfx
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Saw Chuck Berry ............... His daughter was on stage with him (can't remember her name)
Ingrid.
--
L\'escargot.
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Rush - Red Barchetta - 1981
Lyrics at:
tinyurl.com/q2emq
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Mini by Corduroy. Funky track too.
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Funky Moped by Jasper Carrot. Although I believe the B side of the vinyl (remember them) was more popular.
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Did you hear that Jasper Carrot has made £11,000,000 from his shares in Celador, the owners of the "Who wants to be a millionaire" franchise.
You can by a few nice cars for that - motoring link ;-)
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Seem to remember The Tom Robinson Band having a song called 'Grey Cortina' (nothing meaner!)
as well as the obvious '2468'
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Oooh! and 'Wheels of Steel' by Saxon too!
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I've been racking my brains trying to remember this one:
Driving Away From Home (Jim's Tune) - by Its Immaterial; mid 80's one hit wonders. www.lyricsvault.net/songs/26552.html
I remember Smash Hits magazine (!!) saying it is the only song to mention the M62. But there are a few more now according to Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M62_motorway
I'm not a Springsteen fan, but "Born To Run" is not a bad one. www.bluesforpeace.com/lyrics/born-to-run.htm
Although in my teens I heard the Frankie Goes To Hollywood cover of it first.
Also Little Red Corvette by Prince, but not my cup of tea...
;o)
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You shoulda seen me and Lena
In the back of my Cortina
We couldn't have been obscener
If we'd tried....
or words to that effect, from Billericay Dickie by the great lyricist and leader of excellent band the Blockheads, the late Ian Dury.
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Mark Knopfler (& EmmyLou Harris)
Red Staggerwing
If i was a maserati
A red 300s
I'd ride around to your house, baby
Give you a driving test
If i was a mustang racer
White with a stripe of blue
You could ride me,baby
Whenever you wanted to
You're gonna need a rider anyhow
Let me be your rider now
A great CD, well worth owning
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but my all time favourite (considering where I grew up) is
KATHY MATTEA | 455 Rocket Lyrics
Mr. Smith had an Oldsmobile
Baby-blue with wire wheels
I took her home the day she was advertised
He said she would leaked when it would rain
Sounded like an aeroplane
but I knew she was jewel in disguise
8< SNIP
Rest of lyrics here. tinyurl.com/y8uwb6 - DD
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I guess I shoulda known
By the way u parked your car sideways
That it wouldnt last
See youre the kinda person
That believes in makin out once
Love em and leave em fast
8< SNIP
Rest of lyrics to Prince's Little Red Corvette here:- tinyurl.com/y47wyb - DD
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A few more...
Willin' / Little Feat
"Driven every kind of rig that's ever been made
Driven the back roads so I wouldn't get weighed"
Pull up to the bumper / Grace Jones
"Pull up to my bumper, baby"
Going home / Bert Jansch
"Driving through the wind and rain
Got my baby beside me too"
Prisons on the road / John Mayall
"Every street is choking
looks like too much traffic on the road
No fun in driving
you wait in line forever just to go"
There's a whole website of road songs collected by the US Dept of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration at tinyurl.com/yaqhld
Zebra
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"Hello (Honest) John, got a new motor?"
Driver's Seat - Sniff and the Tears
Radar Love - Golden Earring "(Road Safety Partnership extended club remix)
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What about Seven little girls sitting in the back seat kissing and a huggin with Fred, de do de dum dum de do de dum dum etc. This got to number 3 in the charts in 1959, pop pickers, by that well known group The Avons.
I think that a triple carburetter was mentioned at one stage, I bet that took some tuning.
Sad to hear of Fluff Freeman's passing, pick of the pops was a must for me and my pals some years ago. "On to unit 4 the top ten" those were the days!
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Of course Chuck Berry, lots of car songs. 'Slow down, little Jagwah... Keep cool, little Thunderbird Fo'd...' and 'Ridin around in my automobile, my baby beside me at the wheel'.... all the way to 'Can you imagine the way I felt: I couldn't unfasten her safety belt!'
Beach Boys 'My little Deuce Coupe (you don't know what I got) ... contains the lines: 'She's got a competition clutch and four on the floor, and she purrs like a kitten till the lake pipes roar'.
Someone mentioned 'Son of Mustang Ford' by Swervedriver. Oddly enough my present car is a Ford although not a Mustang, bought from the lead guitar (ret'd) of that band who I know quite well as he is a relation by marriage of my wife. Small world eh?
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Someone mentioned 'Son of Mustang Ford' by Swervedriver. Oddly enough my present car is a Ford although not a Mustang, bought from the lead guitar (ret'd) of that band who I know quite well as he is a relation by marriage of my wife. Small world eh?
Brilliant stuff Lud! I was well into them at Uni in the '90's, the first album Raise and the Duel and Never Lose That Feeling EP's were on heavy rotation in our student gaff. I'll have to tell my brother about that, he was a big fan too.
:o)
For the benefit of others, Son of Mustang Ford lyrics:
lyrics.doheth.co.uk/songs/swervedriver/raise/son-o...p
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Bat out of Hell (yes I know its a motor bike)
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Rather than quoting the whole song, can you just google for a link, or just post a brief summary instead?
DD.
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DD you spoilsport :-)
I got a 69 Chevy with a 396
Fuelie heads and a Hurst on the floor
She's waiting tonight down in the parking lot
Outside the seven eleven store
or if you prrefer Chris Rea
Johnny needs a fast car
Johnny needs it now
We won't mention Springsteen's "Santa Claus is coming to town".
JH
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A few more:
18 Wheels And A Dozen Roses - Kathy Mattea
2-4-6-8 Motorway - Tom Robinson Band
?57 Chevrolet - Billie Jo Spears
Danger-RoadTrain - Slim Dusty
Dirty World - Traveling Wilburys
Drivin?s In My Blood - Willis Brothers
Freightliner Fever - Red Sovine
Gear Shiftin? - Walter Haynes
Girl On The Billboard - Del Reeves
Goin? Down The Road Feelin? Bad - Skeeter Davis
Highway To Nowhere - Jim Reeves
Hitchin? A Ride - Vanity Fayre
I?ve Been Everywhere - Hank Snow
King Of The Open Road - Red Sovine
King Of The Road - Roger Miller
Long Distance Driving - Slim Dusty
Long Thin Dawn - George Hamilton IV
Lost Highway - Hank Williams
Me And Bobby McGee - Charley Pride
Me And You And A Dog Named Boo - Lobo
Monteagle Mountain - Johnny Cash
Movin? On - Mike Lunsford
Passing Zone Blues - Coleman Wilson
Roll Big Wheels Roll - Vernon Oxford
Roll On 18 Wheeler - Alabama
Six Days On The Road - Dave Dudley
Take It Easy - The Eagles
Tombstone Every Mile - Charlie Moore
Truck Drivers? Queen - Willis Brothers
Truck Driving Man - Terry Fell
Truckers? Paradise - Nev Nicholls
Uli?s Last Ride - Rattlesnake Annie
We?ve Been Trucking Too - Slim Dusty
Wheels A? Turnin? - Willis Brothers
R.A.D.
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Convoy (the UK version Laurie and the DIpsticks) not the US version which was IIRC sung with no sense of irony.
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THIS IS THE ONE!
While riding in my limousine
What to my surprise
A little Bubble Car was following me.... 8< SNIP
Rest of lyrics can be found at www.3wheelers.com/songs.html - DD
Roger. (Costa del Sol, España)
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By Billy Bragg, to the tune of Route 66
If you want to go to Shoeburyness
Take the A road, the OK road that's the best
Go motoring in the A13
--
I read often, only post occasionally
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8< SNIP Rest of lyrics can be found at ..........
Gee DD you have been busy, perhaps "Dave is on the road again" by Manfred Mann would be apt, cant find the lyrics tho ;-)
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Highway Star - Deep Purple (surprised this hasn't already come up!)
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What about "Leader of the pack" by the Shangrilas, when I hear this on the tractor it really gets me going.
After having a rough time combinding some wheat for a bloke called Gordon, I sang "Gordon is a moron", recorded by Jilted John, at the top of my voice most of the day, it made me feel much better.
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Found this thread by accident looking for something else. Those who've listed songs about the adrenal side of driving might appreciate the sly twist in this:
www.austinlizards.com/songs/hey_little_minivan.mp3
There's a snatch of the song on the end of this link and a full transcript elsewhere on the site but you'll get the idea soon enough.
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Aygo awhile a-wandering
Viva Espana (no, they were made in Luton)
The Old Superb
Al-tea for 2 (Seat and Mazda)
And there's John Betjeman's famous ode to the young exec -
I am a young executive. No cuffs than mine are cleaner;
I have a slimline brief-case and I use the firm's Cortina.
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sheilas wheels,now that has to hurt!
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You shoulda seen me and Lena
In the back of my Cortina
We couldn't have been obscener
If we tried...
From 'Billericay Dickie' by the very good poet Ian Dury and his band the Blockheads. I've quoted this before.
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Lud, agree with your sentiments on Ian Dury but you've mis-quoted it. tinyurl.com/yvet85
Whilst we're on the subject how about the same man's "Bus Driver's Prayer"? tinyurl.com/bwpm2
"Our Father,
Who art in Hendon
Harrow Road be Thy name
Thy Kingston come ....etc"
_______
IanS
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Thanks RTB... I seem to have got it very wrong. So perhaps I won't quote the opening line from Plaistow Patricia just to see if the mods are awake...
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Lud, you were close!
When I can a kid, I used to have to turn down the intro to Plaistow Patricia for fear of upsetting my parents!
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Gotta See Jane - R.Dean Taylor - chorus of "red light green light driving through the dark night"
Red Barchetta - Rush
Autobahn - Kraftwerk
A13 - Billy Bragg
Grey Cortina - Tom Robinson
Back Seat Education - Zodiac Mindwarp "This is a special car - 2 accelerators no brakes"
Magic Bus - The Who
Im In Love With My Car - Queen
Leader of the Pack - look for the video by Twisted Sister its hilarious
Down Under - Men at work "driving round in a clapped out combi"
One Piece at a time - Johnny Cash
Born to be wild - Steppenwolf
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Can I add "Maserati GT (I Ain't Got You)" by Blue Oyster Cult?
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Plus of course
Jessica by the Allman Brothers - no mention of cars (its an instrumental) but indelibly linked to motoring in the mind of everyone from its use as Top Gear's theme tune.
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I think the Beach Boys car songs are the best lyrically, but Little Honda was surely about a bike, rather than a car.
No one has mentioned Bachman Turner Overdrive's 'Four Whel Drive' - great song.
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A bit Smashie and Nicey though!
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Telegraph Road, by Dire Straits, over 15 minutes of slowly building crescendo.
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Anyone remember this one from many moons ago.
The Playmates - Beep Beep....
tinyurl.com/2nayo8
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Best has to be *Brand New Car* by The Rolling Stones (Voodoo Lounge). It has the word car in the title and obviously car related lyrics. Great song. If you want to put background music to a home video related to... well getting a brand new car... it fits really well. Remember to mail Mick and Keef to ask first though ;-)
Listen to a sample at...
www.amazon.com/Voodoo-Lounge-Rolling-Stones/dp/B00...L
BRAND NEW CAR
(M. Jagger/K. Richards)
I got a brand new car
And I like to drive real hard
I got a brand new car
And I'm feeling good so far
Take her on the highway for a little spin
I want to see the kind of shape she's in
And I got a brand new star
Jack her up baby, go on, open the hood
I want to check if her oil smells good
Mmmm...smells like caviar
Give her some stick
Push her too far
Right to the brink
Hear the motor running
Yeah, she's right in sink
Tell me if she's thirsty
Would she like a drink
And I'm stopping at this bar
Slinky like a panther
You can hear her purr
Touch her on the seat
Go on, feel the fur
And I got a brand new star
Feel the juice
Foot to the floor
Take some abuse
I got a brand new car
And I drive her in the dark
And I got a brand new car
I think I'll stop and park
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Hmmm...that song's about a car in the way that What's New, Pussycat? is about a pet feline.
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Well.... yes but the kids will never know!
DW
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Pink Floyd- the final cut- Two suns in the sunset- mean and moody through out, with the lines
"like the moments when the brakes lock
and you slide towards the big truck,
you stretch those frozen moments with your fear
and you'll never hear their voices
and you'll never see their faces
you have no recourse to the lord anymore........
always makes me think when I see horendous accidents what those people were thinking, and always ensures I keep at least 2 seconds on the motorways.
safe driving all back roomers
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