Songs About Cars

Ten songs about cars, several of which are about cars.

Entries
10
Category
Music
Updated
  1. A pink 1950s Cadillac with tail fins parked under a desert motel sign at night, a white leather seat glowing in the neon.

    10. Pink Cadillac

    Bruce Springsteen · 1984

    The B-side of "Dancing in the Dark," nodding to Elvis's pink touring Cadillac. Springsteen blocked Bette Midler's version as not a girl's song, then let Natalie Cole take it to No. 5 in 1988. Glad he worked that out.

  2. A chopped 1932 Ford hot rod coupe on a California beach at sunset, a surfboard leaning on its fender.

    09. Little Deuce Coupe

    The Beach Boys · 1963

    A tribute to the 1932 Ford coupe, Brian Wilson's music with lyrics by DJ Roger Christian. It was the B-side of "Surfer Girl" and still reached No. 15, their highest-charting flip side. Frank Zappa praised the chords. Nobody saw that coming.

  3. Beer mugs and a crumpled napkin with scribbles on a dark bar table, a toy luxury car parked among them.

    08. Mercedes Benz

    Janis Joplin · 1971

    Sung a cappella in one take on October 1, 1970, three days before she died. Co-written with Bob Neuwirth and poet Michael McClure as a joke about consumerism. Mercedes-Benz later used it in an ad. McClure said he wouldn't watch it.

  4. A small boxy car with doors locked in a gray London traffic jam, a synthesizer keyboard on the passenger seat.

    07. Cars

    Gary Numan · 1979

    Written in 30 minutes after Numan locked his doors to escape some men in London traffic and drove up onto the pavement. No. 1 in the UK, No. 9 in the US. He called a car your own little empire on four wheels. Road rage, but cold.

  5. A 1950s Oldsmobile with its trunk open on a Memphis street, a cracked guitar amplifier stuffed with newspaper inside.

    06. Rocket 88

    Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats · 1951

    An ode to the Oldsmobile Rocket 88, cut by Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm at Sam Phillips's studio. An amp fell off the car on the drive in; Phillips stuffed paper in the busted speaker. Five weeks at No. 1 R&B. Rock and roll's first fuzz came from a car.

  6. A car's headlights on an empty highway at night, a dashboard radio glowing, the moon low over flat Dutch fields.

    05. Radar Love

    Golden Earring · 1973

    A man drives all night toward a lover he's psychically linked to. Lyricist Barry Hay later confirmed the driver dies in a crash. It went to No. 13 in the US and has been covered more than 800 times. Still the best song to get pulled over to.

  7. A 1965 Ford Mustang convertible parked outside a smoky bar, a key ring tossed on the hood beside a pair of dancing shoes.

    04. Mustang Sally

    Wilson Pickett · 1966

    Mack Rice wrote it after Della Reese's drummer turned down a Lincoln and asked for a Mustang. It was "Mustang Mama" until Aretha Franklin suggested the change. Pickett's cover hit No. 6 R&B. Every bar band since has been required by law to play it.

  8. A V8 Ford chasing a Cadillac up a two-lane hill in the rain at dawn, a mascara box on the shoulder of the road.

    03. Maybellene

    Chuck Berry · 1955

    A V8 Ford chasing a Cadillac Coupe de Ville, adapted from the fiddle tune "Ida Red." Leonard Chess reportedly named it after a mascara box. Alan Freed got a co-writing credit he did not write. Rock and roll began as a car chase and a payola scheme.

  9. A pink and white 1964 sedan parked at an empty drive-in theater at night, a red toy sports car resting on its hood.

    02. Little Red Corvette

    Prince · 1983

    Prince's first Top 10 hit, peaking at No. 6. He got the idea dozing in bandmate Lisa Coleman's car, a pink 1964 Mercury Montclair. It is not about a Corvette. It is only barely about a car. Chevrolet did not complain.

  10. An old hatchback parked outside a convenience store at dusk, a packed duffel bag in the back seat and city lights on the horizon.

    01. Fast Car

    Tracy Chapman · 1988

    Her debut single went to No. 6 after she filled in at the Mandela tribute when Stevie Wonder's gear failed. In 2023 Luke Combs's cover made her the first Black songwriter to win a CMA Award. The car is a plan to leave. It never quite gets there.

Honorable mentions

  • An empty chauffeur's cap resting on the seat of a garage with no car in it, a set of keys hanging on a nail.

    Drive My Car

    The Beatles · 1965

    The opening track of Rubber Soul, rewritten after Lennon called Paul's "diamond rings" draft crap. The twist: she has no car, but she's found a driver, and that's a start. A song about cars with no car in it. Beep beep, yeah.

Dishonorable mentions

  • A gleaming vintage British roadster in a garage with a single red rose on its hood and a padlocked cupboard in the corner.

    I'm in Love with My Car

    Queen · 1975

    Roger Taylor's ode to a roadie's Triumph TR4. He reportedly locked himself in a cupboard until it became the B-side of "Bohemian Rhapsody," which earned him the same publishing royalties as Freddie. The engine at the end is his Alfa Romeo.

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