When the horse was responsible for our transport there must have been multitude of songs played on the lute and the lyre celebrating its equine virtues. Hopefully some of these were better than Father Ted's ‘My lovely horse’.
Since the advent of the automobile, however, a host of songs have evolved praising the sleek bodywork and celebrating the associated lifestyle tied in with the car.
In the US of A they crooned over Chevy’s, Thunderbirds, and little Deuce Coupes. The ‘50’s being a particularly rich decade especially for highway songs, Route ’66, Automobile, and Mustang Sally spring to mind. Cars must have been much bigger then, I mean how could you get seven little girls plus Fred crammed into the back seat of a bog standard car nowadays? And as for the luckless driver, not only would he be disappointed at having no chance with any of the girls, but also he would be facing a severe reprimand from the law today.
Back in Blighty, some of would rather ‘jump on the bus, Gus’, or be ‘riding along on a pushbike honey’, though the Beatles’ ‘Drive my Car’, and Gary Numan’s ‘Cars’ have stood the test of time somewhat better.
Cars have found their way into many a hit, we have Janis Joplin’s ‘Mercedes Benz’, The Doors' ‘Moonlight Drive’, War’s ‘Low Rider’, Rose Royce’s ‘Car Wash’, Usher’s ‘U-turn’, Prince’s ‘Little Red Corvette’, Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Crosstown Traffic’, Tracy Chapman's Fast Car’, Echobelly’s ‘King of the Kerb’ and Kraftwerk’s ‘Autobahn’.
The car has certain powers in attracting a partner as in Warren Smith’s obscure song, about losing his girlfriend to a stranger: "he was long and tall, plenty of cash, he had a red Cadillac and a black moustache". Let’s face it, I doubt it was the moustache that won her over.
Elastica's car song goes further;
"Sometimes I just can't function, My heart's spaghetti junction
Every shining bonnet, Makes me think of my back on it"
There are those whose names just happen to tie in. A bit suspicious, if you ask me. Van Morrison, The Cars, The Motors, The Cortinas, The Mercedes ladies, Herbie Hancock, Bentley Rhythm Aces, The Geep Gurls, and Turin Brakes, to name but a few.
One of the best has got to be Bobbi Humphrey’s ‘Harlem River Drive’ a splendid masterpiece of urban imagery setting the scene with the sound of a car door closing, the starter motor being turned over, gradually building up to a groovalicious journey complete with the Blackbirds doing backing vocals. A picture of the city at night is painted, and the traffic flow, lights reflected in the water, can be visualised. Even car sirens are incorporated with Doppler effect, and turned into something beautiful.
Not all glamour & gloss, the downside of motoring should not been forgotten. Was Alice Cooper’s ‘under my wheels’ really the best way to end a relationship? And what of the melancholic ‘Tell Laura I love her’ by the Ray Peterson, about poor doomed Tommy who lost his life in a car race ("he was the youngest driver there"), all in a bid to win money to buy his fiancée a wedding ring. A particularly tragedy-tinged instrumental version can be suffered at http://users.cis.net/sammy/laura.htm
Then there is the downright sick ‘Transfusion’ by Nervous Norvus where a blasé, speeding drink-driver that never learns from his mistakes, repeatedly ends up in hospital after each alcohol-induced crash. In each case the ensuing medical procedures are accompanied by a droll rhyme such as "Pump the fluid in me Louie", "Put the claret in me Barret" and "Hey Daddy-O, make that type O". Any budding vampires would be advised to view full lyrics at
http://www.lyricsxp.com/in/show.asp?ID=7537
Then we have the case of Corduroy’s "Mini" - "I like the way that your eyes they come on in the dark, I like the way that it don’t take much for you to start. Mini, no-one takes me further than you". A cracking song, complete with tongue-in-cheek reference to confusing a car with girl.
In 1994, things seemed to be going in the right direction for this band with the release of their new album, Out of Here. However, a financing blunder for a publicity stunt promoting the aforementioned single, ‘Mini,’ resulted in the band's label, Acid Jazz, dropping them. Known as the band who never made it, they are sadly no longer together. But you can hear snippets of songs and get further info at: http://www.absolutions.baremetal.com Corduroy was also responsible for the energetic ‘Ayrton Senna’, dedicated to the late great motor racing champion.
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