Hit the Road: 14 songs about driving
We dedicated the May/June 2023 issue of Hagerty Drivers Club magazine to the deep connections between music and cars, including several fun lists featuring your favorite car songs. Come back often or click the Music & Cars tag to stay up to date on these stories as they roll out online. You can also jam with our custom Music & Cars playlist on Spotify, available here.
Countless songs address the freedom of driving. Among thousands of candidates, we’ll start by nominating two seemingly disparate numbers, both of which illustrate a great through line of American song—the liberating spirit of adventure and exploration that hitting the highway represented. “See the U.S.A. In Your Chevrolet” was made famous by Dinah Shore in 1950, though the jingle—written by Leo Corday and Leon Carr—was originally sung for the TV show Inside U.S.A. with Chevrolet by Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy. Later covered by Pat Boone and even the cast of Glee, after decades of service as a recurring Chevrolet jingle, its luster has by now largely worn off. Conversely, the status of the once-obscure garage rock classic “Roadrunner”—by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers—continues its ascent to musical standard-dom, its popularity growing like the sprawling suburbia that its narrator simultaneously celebrates and seeks to escape.
And, of course, no discussion of the freedom that cars offer would be complete without “Born to Be Wild,” made famous by Steppenwolf and its appearance in the 1969 film Easy Rider, which is about two meaning-seeking, drug-dealing Californian rebels on an impromptu trip across the American Southwest and South on old Harley choppers. Amusingly, this all-American standard was written by a Canadian sessions musician, Mars Bonfire (real name Dennis Eugene McCrohan). He was broke and out of work and planted in Los Angeles when he penned the timeless anthem, a ditty that turned out—in the way these things do—to be just as useful for breathless corporate marketers as for nonconformists quitting their jobs and hitting the road.
Here are 14 more songs that celebrate the freedom of driving…
Bruce Springsteen
“THUNDER ROAD”
There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road
In the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets
Somewhere in Maine, Stephen King is listening.
M.I.A.
“BAD GIRLS”
Cover me, cause I’m changing lanes
That’s not the purpose of driver aids and you know it, M.I.A! They’re meant to complement proper use of mirrors, not replace them completely.
Sonic Youth
“SHOOT”
Can I have the car keys? I wanna go for a ride
Can I have the car please? I’m going out for a while
Can I have the car now? I wanna drive all around
Can I have the car, dear? I’m gonna leave this town
This feels like the lyrical equivalent of Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom?
Iggy Pop
“THE PASSENGER”
He sees the sight of hollow sky
He sees the stars come out tonight
He sees the city’s ripped backsides
He sees the winding ocean drive
And everything was made for you and me
All of it was made for you and me
‘Cause it just belongs to you and me
So let’s take a ride and see what’s mine
Someone sure is selfish.
The Allman Brothers Band
“RAMBLIN’ MAN”
Leaving out of Nashville, Tennessee
They’re always having a good time down on the bayou, Lord
And Delta women think the world of me
Yes, but the JetBlue women can’t stand you.
Wilco
“PASSENGER SIDE”
Hey, wake up, your eyes weren’t open wide
For the last couple of miles you’ve been swerving from side to side
You’re gonna make me spill my beer
If you don’t learn how to steer
Team Wilco lasted exactly one stage before the FIA banned them from ever competing in the WRC again.
Foghat
“SLOW RIDE”
Slow ride
Take it easy
Slow ride
Take it easy
Slow ride
Take it easy
Slow ride
Take it easy
Slow ride
Take it easy
I hear you, man. Now tell it to all the bozos over on r/idiotsincars.
Pearl Harbor and the Explosions
“DRIVIN’”
(Drivin’)
Back on the streets when it feels so right
(Drivin’) Drivin’
(Drivin’)
It’s just tonight, I feel the only cure is drivin’
(Drivin’) Drivin’
(Drivin’)
I’ve got no time to think of how you feel
(Drivin’) Drivin’
(Drivin’)
Behind the wheel, so now I gotta drive it, drive it
(Drivin’) Drivin’
Contrary to popular belief, this is not a song about golf.
The Modern Lovers
“ROADRUNNER”
With the radio on
I’m in love with Massachusetts
With the radio off, however, I prefer South Dakota.
The Cars
“DRIVE”
Who’s gonna hold you down when you shake?
Who’s gonna come around when you break?
Such a subtle nod to the Plymouth K-car.
Chuck Berry
“NO PARTICULAR PLACE TO GO”
Ridin’ along in my calaboose
Still tryin’ to get her belt aloose
All the way home I held a grudge
But the safety belt it wouldn’t budge
Cruisin’ and playin’ the radio
With no particular place to go
And that, friends, is why we heed recall notices.
War
“LOW RIDER”
All my friends know the low rider
Yeah, but so does Karen from the neighborhood watch, and you just know she’s got 911 on speed dial.
Gary Numan
“CARS”
Here in my car
I feel safest of all
I can lock all my doors
It’s the only way to live
In cars
Is it, though?
The Breeders
“DRIVIN’ ON 9” (Ed’s Redeeming Qualities cover)
Drivin’ on 9
Drivin’ on 9
Drivin’ on 9
Also not a song about golf!
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Ah Slow Ride really not about a car or a bike if you know what I mean. Wink!
But songs like Roll Me away, Westbound and East Bound Down are about real rides.
So is BTO Let roll, In my car Joe Walsh, Rev on the Red Line Foreigner, Hillbilly Highway, Haul in Ass, Mud, Wheels and Road Hammer by the Road Hammers.
Lynyrd Skynyrd. Smoke Stack Lightning, Born to Run [no not that one], Travlin’ Man.
Outlaws Rippin Through Kentucky, Color Em Gone
Sammy Hagar I can’t drive 55 or 65, Trans Am and Boozin’ and Crusin’.
We in auto shop never listen to Bruce. Someone destroyed a tape that made it in once and that was all she wrote.
I would suggest checking out the Road Hammers. They love truck and car songs and are one of the best groups in Canada.
I agree 100%, and imo Foreigner’s “Rev on the Red Line” is an underrated classic, kinda describes the shenanigans my friends and I got up to on the Raymond Street Expressway, Southside Indianapolis, late ’60s to about ’81. And hyperv6, all those GREAT old car songs, and you left out Deep Purple’s “Highway Star”!? Tsk. Garage cleanup for you, my friend.
Lou Graham the lead singer was and still is a big Pontiac and GTO fan.
Saw him a few years ago at a local car show with his black 442, just hanging out with family.
He goes to local shows around Rochester NY. Very nice, unassuming guy. He’ll talk to you like he’s known you forever.
You missed some great one like
Radar Love by Golden earring
How about Them Ballad of Thunder Road from the 1958 movie Thunder Road and sung by Robert Mitchum. I loved the movie and always remember it.
Yes!!!
YES Remember it well.
Exactly!!
Should have been first on the list!
one of the greats
Radar Love is the first one I thought of! How about Goin Up The Country by Canned Heat, Truckin’ by Grateful Dead. And of course, all the timeless Beach Boys and Jan and Dean songs.
Radar Love was the first song I thought of when reading the article title. I was *sure* it would be in the list. Certainly before “Drive,” by The Cars, which although a popular song when released, really isn’t about driving.
Absolutely right on a great one hit wonder. I bought the Golden Earring album and Radar Love was the only really good song on it. But it was always on my driving list. The songs I needed to stay awake. 😋
I went to an outdoor concert they played at when Radar Love was on the radio all the time, and they were halfway through the song before I realized that’s what they were playing. They were terrible live.
Actually they were a two hit wonder, “when the bullet hit’s the bone” was a huge hit for Golden earring released 10yrs after the classic “Radar Love” 😉
Another big missed road song: RESTLESS, by Alabama! “Let’s Roll the windows down, turn the radio up, let the wind blow through our hair……”
Jackwaffles have some nerve choosing video with, “Kill the Pigs,” sign. I will contact my agent today and find another company to deal with….. I have had it if Hagerty can’t do better than that. Just plain stupid on their part. Come on Hagerty is that really how you want your company to show.
Put down the crack pipe and back away slowly….
There’s a diesel on my tail doing ninety miles an hour.
Slow Ride was a song about what you could do in the back seat!
Exactly!! Listen to the music as it builds to the finish. Just some stationary driven’ goin on here! LOL!!
What about Radar Love by Golden Earring
RADAR LOVE AND I CAN’T DRIVE 55 WERE NOT ON THE LIST SMH
As he splits the road in two
Underdrive we never knew
Outrun ’em you know we can
So put the keys in my hand
-“Hell on Wheels” Fu Manchu
I’m packing today for an early morning departure on a 1500 mile road trip. Going solo, so I don’t have to worry about tunes to placate any passengers – it’s all me, me, ME! You’d better believe that in addition to some tools and snacks, I’ve loaded up my very best highway playlist. If you park about 1/2 mile away down the road from my driveway at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow, I guarantee you’ll hear me coming before you see me! 😎
DUB6 – would love to see your Playlist. As a pro truck driver spending most of my time driving I have my own but am always open to new ideas and songs.
Ramblin’ Man…absolutely the worst, over played on pop radio, Allman Brothers song of all time!
I have to agree. I’m an Allman Brothers fan and that is not their best traveling song. “Jessica” is a superior choice for driving and would be a great opening song for a show about cars and driving.
Yeah if only one of the stars didn’t punch out the producer! LOL
You forgot BTO’s Rollin On Down The Highway, and the song that uses driving as a metaphor for life choices: Molly Hatchet’s Flirtin With Disaster.
Born to Be Wild
Song by Steppenwolf
Yes!
Absolutely. Head out on the highway!
All of you missed the big picture and the mention at the very top of the piece???
seriously, no “radar love”
# 1 car driving song got missed
Radar Love? The ultimate driving song
Radar Love
“Last car to pass, here I go!”
I came to make the same comment
What, no Red Barchetta?
Wind
In my hair
Shifting and drifting
Mechanical music
Adrenaline surge
Well weathered leather
Metal and oil
The scented country air
Sunlight on chrome
The blur of the landscape
Every nerve aware
Although, I will admit, Radar Love is a great driving song, too.
100% E\Red Barchetta !!
Nailed it Jeff
A couple oldies but IMO goodies.
Bob Seger – Get Out of Denver
Commander Cody – Hot Rod Lincoln
No more comment’s please, we have our winner! 💪👉 YOU!!!
Highway Star, Deep Purple!
Agree this is the best driving song. I prefer the live version for the drive
Agree, the live version of Highway Star is the greatest of all time! Radar Love is second. Another great one, more obscure is, Mark Knopfler’s Border Reiver, the tale of a truck driver in the UK driving an Albion Reveir.
Concur!!
THIS WAS MY FIRST AND FAVORITE! FOLLOWED BY BOYS OF SUMMER
yes, Highway Star, either version though live is awesome. And a vote for Radar Love
Runnin’ Down a Dream. Tom Petty
Yep!
Also – “Running on Empty” by Jackson Browne.
Next contest – best chase scene songs – I nominate “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” from Bonnie and Clyde by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs
We all wear shame for forgetting that absolute classic! I’m sure that with both of them in heaven now, the saints are puttin’ the pedal down to that one…and so many other great ones!
+1 on Rush’s Red Barchetta. aIt is hard to think a a song that betters captures the senses and joys of driving.
100 % Red Barchetta !!!!!!!!!
Well, it was never played on the radio, plus I just listened to less than half of it and that was more than enough.
If you listen to the rest, you may understand why many say it is so good – if a bit dark.
How about Big Log by Robert Plant?
My love is in league with the freeway
Its passion will rise as the cities fly by
And the tail lights dissolve in the coming of night
And the questions and thousands take flight
You know, I’ll bet I heard that song on the radio for ten years before I realized the title was “Big Log,” which sounds like the song is about taking a big dump! Never saw the video, either, so I just watched it and no clue where the title came from. Love the ’55 with the weird GM two tone paint of the time, set off with a primered fender.
I can’t believe Hot Rod Lincoln is not in the list! That’s been done by a few artists. And what about Transfusion by Nervous Norvus?!
I agree on Hot Rod Lincoln except maybe it isn’t a true “road” song.
Of course it is a road song–it has hot rod and drinkin in the lyrics.
Not complete without Highway Star by Deep Purple
Agreed!
You forgot Deep Purple’s Highway Star
I’m amazed no one has mentioned Life is a Highway by Tom Cochrane.