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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This article first appeared in Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Click here to subscribe and join the club.
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WHERE, I mean where is RADAR LOVE, By Golden Earing, Number one song of all time !!!!!!!!!!!! Driving Song !!!!!!
“Morgan Driver” by Paul Morgan Band
All of these are great songs, but as others have mentioned, “Thunder Road” from the movie should have been up close to the top. Of those listed my favorites are, No Particular Place to Go by Chuck Berry and Ramblin Man by the Allman Bros. I am now 82 yrs old and these 2 songs brought back some really great memories of my youth before marriage, mortgages and kids.
First time I’ve ever read all the comments… Ol’ 55, Tom Waits original is the first song that came to mind; if an Eagles song belongs its Take it to the Limit; shocked that no one mentioned Springsteen’s Promised Land (“drivin’ all night chasin’ some mirage”) or Racin’ in the Streets; check out Mark Lanegan’s Strange Religon (“the Buick’s a Century, a ’73 like you”); Jeff Beck ( a legit gearhead), Freeway Jam
How could Hot Rod Lincoln by Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen not possibly be on the list? An unforgiveable omission!
Cars? Trucks? Semi’s? Convoy by C.W. McCall even includes “11 long haired friends of Jesus in a chartreuse micro-bus!”
Maybe, I’m being a bit too cerebral, but my three favorite driving, or road songs are Long, Lonesome Highway. That was the end theme to “Then Came Bronson. It was sung by Michael Parks. Number 2 is The Persecution and Restoration of Dean Moriarity (On the Road), Aztec Two-Step. The third song is Tom Paxton’s I’m Bound for the Mountains and the Sea.
They are a must, for me, when rambling through the likes of Montana, the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania. There are a few other States I could mention, but I don’t want to discourage any from hitting the Road.
Wow! This generated the most interest I have ever seen for a Hagerty article. As many great songs in the comments as in the article (more!).
Got to agree with Hot Rod Lincoln.
Have to include “Willin’” by Little Feat, “Six Days on the Road’ by Flyin Burrito Brothers and mostly, Jerry Reed’s ‘Eastbound (the theme from Smokey and the Bandit)’
That’s a bad list, Radar Love,ugh! What about all the Jan and Dean songs..Little old lady from Pasadena, Dead man’s Curve.Beach Boys..Little Deuce coupe ,409 etc,etc. Dick Dale..Night Rider, and Hot Rod Lincoln!You could replace 1/2 that list. Was any body over 30 who put this out?
“Water in the Fuel” and also “Trucker Speed” both by Fred Eaglesmith are under rated road trip songs
Agreed!! Willin being the best of those..
sniif n the tears drivers seat.great driving song
Impossible to include all the great driving songs in a list of 14. But I wanted to point out that in the original article in the magazine, you included Grace Jones’ “Pull Up to the Bumper, Baby.” I suggest you go back and listen to the lyrics of that song. It is most certainly NOT about cars or driving…but I still love it!
All of the above are great! My favorite group is Rush so I have to shout out their song Red Barchetta as a great driving song!
Check out my Spotify playlist “Songs About Cars” I’ve got over 200 of them in there, what am I missing?
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1CAncLMcbFSirebrd1Nrfk?si=bf9c37ec02e74e87