Top 10 songs about cars, as inspired by Galaxie 500’s “Blue Thunder.”
“Blue Thunder” by Galaxie 500
The fact that Dean Wareham named his car after the movie Blue Thunder is funny. The fact that every human being develops a relationship with his or her first or favorite car is undeniable. Wareham’s lyrics are infused with the independence and freedom we often associate while driving in our cars. This is a dreampop masterpiece. “I’ll drive so far away.”
“Car” by Built to Spill
Seemingly unrelated to automobiles, “Car” does attempt to signify itself as a vessel to the unconscious. It is a song filled with vulnerable, naïve and intense thoughts that call for things we cannot have. Furthermore, if we could “see movies of my dreams,” would it even be a good thing? “Don’t let me know what you find out.”
“Gimme the Car” by Violent Femmes
Sex and cars go hand in hand, and in this adolescent plea for a ride (both senses of the word), Gordon Gano darkly, humorously and expertly ties the two together. “So much he don’t understand/Just might never make it to a man.”
“Ole 55” by Tom Waits
“Well my time went so quickly/I went lickety-spickly out to my ol’ 55/As I drove away slowly/feeling so holy/God knows, I was feelin’ alive.” Nuff said.
“Stickshifts and Safetybelts” by Cake
The most fun song about cars. A bouncing, walking bassline and 50s-era guitar pickin’ drive this classic, while John McCrea deadpans about how modern car gadgetry only gets in the way of his woman.
“Stop This Car” by Jonathan Richman
An adorable tribute to car safety. Musically, Richman pays respects to early soda pop rock complete with sax solos, as he plays the role of a paranoid passenger. “I’m not gonna wait til’ we land in the brook/And have all the little fishies swim by and take a look/Now they’re all laughing at us with the brook trout/Stop this car, I’m getting out.”
“The Jeep Song” by The Dresden Dolls
Easy to imagine this one being sung by Nico and VU, Amanda Palmer sees her former lover’s 96 Jeep Cherokee as a symbol of torture. “I guess it’s just my stupid luck/that all of Boston drives that same black fucking truck.”
“One Piece at a Time” by Johnny Cash
A song about a mechanic who sneaks parts of a Caddy out “one piece at a time” and builds a Frankenstein-like Caddy at home. Worth listening through to the end when Johnny says, “What model is it? It’s a 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59 automobile. I’ts 60, 61, 62…”
“You Ride, We Ride, In My Ride” and “Shining Escalade” by Hot Chip
“You Ride, We Ride, In My Ride” is a driving song that should never be listened to while driving (unless you want a sleepy, mangled death). The soft-trance breakdown carries the song, which like many before it, addresses the road as a contemplative place. “Shining Escalade” is a tongue-in-cheek love song that adopts the parlance of hip hop culture and even reflects on the status that comes with certain rides. “I want a shining escalade/Live my life a different way/ride round the block with you, my boo.”
“El Camino” by Ween
Cordoba! She takes me to the moon!”
