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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Slightly different kind of driving! Crosstown Traffic and Ezy Rider by Jimi Hendrix, Panama by Van Halen!
Missed some great car songs by The Beach Boys and Jan & dean
“Such a subtle nod to the Plymouth K-car”. Really, you’re going to post such a snarky comment like that when GM turned out far more junk than any manufacturer! The Vega, Chevette, Citation, not to mention the “crab car’ Novas of the late seventies, early eighties or whenever they were made. These are just a few that came to mind. And it applies to their corporate cousins as well. If I were more familiar with Ford I could probably come up with a list of their crap as well, I’m sure they churned out more than the Pinto barbecues. But having grown up in a GM family I’m more knowledgeable of garbage that overrated company built. This isn’t the first snide remark that I’ve read in a Hagerty missive so obviously you aren’t interested in obtaining my business. I have been looking for a new classic insurer. I’ll keep looking.
WHAT! Not one song by Bob Seager
So…Maybe I’m a wee bit older than most of your readers….but when I saw Thunder Road my lyrics are a wee bit different. ” so there was thunder, thunder over thunder road, thunder was his engine and white lightening was his load and there was moonshine. moonshine, quench the devils thirst, the law they swore they’d get him but the devil got him first! Starring Robert Mitchum. Somebody else has to remember that movie!! (early 50s and black and white))
Maybelline, why can’tya be true?
What about Tom Waits “My Olds ’55” and “Willin'” by Lowell George and Little Feat? Not mainstream, maybe, but certainly great tunes.
Follow-up: What about Sammy Hagar’s “I can’t drive 55” with Judge Julius Hangman? Great video.
“Beep Beep – The Little Nash Rambler” is my favorite. You can’t beat a song about an under dog. Also, always enjoy hearing “I Feel Good” by James Brown coming over the CB when on a long trip. Thanks to all the truckers who have played it.
If you’re into old school metal, it doesn’t get much better than Judas Priest, Heading Out to the Highway, and Highway Star from Deep Purple.
Highway Star by Steppenwolf. Goes from idle to wild… The drums are exceptional.
Make that Deep Purple. How embarrassing…
There are so many other songs that are probably better than some of your selections. Not sure about the song “Roadrunner” you provided but the one I really like is by Bo Diddly. Also covered by Aerosmith. Awesome song.
What about all the great car songs by the Beach Boys, as well as other bands from the same era? 409, Shut Down, Little Duce Coup, etc. Jan and Dean did Dead Man’s Curve. Then there’s “Hey Little Cobra” by the Rip Chords.
The list goes on and on with really great cars songs, most of which are way better than a few of your selections.
I previously posted this in another thread, but imo bears repeating:
A few from the underrated band NRBQ:
– Ridin’ In My Car
– When It Rains at the Drive-In
– Me and The Boys
– Green Lights
– Get That Gasoline Blues
– Howard Johnson’s Got His Ho-Jo Workin’
Hmm Somehow ZZ Tops “Chevrolet” never makes these lists, why? Great band, great car, I don’t get it. Anyhow, in the present list I’d have to go with Iggy’s “Passenger”.
“I’m in love with my car” Freddy Mercury.
Here’s one I haven’t seen anyone suggest – Drivin my life away by Eddie Rabbitt I actually haven’t heard it in ages