Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Top Ten Driving Songs

Granted, I don’t listen to these songs exclusively while driving my car, but they all sing to me, “drive, drive, drive!”

1. “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen

This one’s a gimmie. It’s got a fast beat, and is all about driving, among other things. With lyrics like “baby we were born to run,” let’s get driving.

2. “Crazy on You” by Heart

Not exactly about driving, but it has a fast beat, and the intro to the song sounds like

“DUM, do do do do, DUM, da da,
DUM, do do do do, DUM, da da,
DUM, do do do do,
DUM, do do do do,
DUM, do do do

“If we still have time
We might still get by
Every time I think about it I want to cry”

I have always imagined the intro being about shifting the gears in your car, with the “DUM” being the shift point. Of course, to shift this many times, and this fast, would require a 7-speed transmission, and you to be having the “petal to the metal,” to shift gears so fast.

3. "I'm In Love With My Car” by Queen

My favorite line: “Told my girl I’ll have to forget her, rather buy me a new carburetor.”

4. “Radar Love” by Golden Earring

“I've been drivin' all night, my hand's wet on the wheel
There's a voice in my head that drives my heel
It's my baby callin', says I need you here
And it's half past four and I'm shifting gear.”

5. “I Can't Drive 55” by Sammy Hagar

The way traffic is these days, I can't drive 55 either.


We’ll drop the pace down a notch, and go from driving to cruising.

6. “Fun, Fun, Fun” by The Beach Boys

I can just picture this song in my mind.

“Well she got her daddy’s car
And she cruised through the hamburger stand now
Seems she forgot all about the library
Like she told her old man now
And with the radio blasting
Goes cruising just as fast as she can now
And she’ll have fun fun fun
'til her daddy takes the t-bird away”

7. “Low Rider” by War

War has a number of good driving songs, including "Cisco Kid", and "Summer". But for this list, I will stick with "Low Rider".


Dropping down another notch, here’s a couple of songs for quiet, nighttime driving.

8. “Drive” by The Cars

A good song for driving at night.

9. “Drive You Home” by Garbage

“I never said I was perfect
But I can drive you home”

Great song.


To round off the list, one song you shouldn’t listen to too carefully while driving.

10. “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas

If you follow the lyric “I close my eyes, only for a moment, now the moment’s gone” while driving, you could run into something. I used to do that, but would close my eyes briefly for the word moment only.


That’s my list. Your mileage may vary. And on a similar note, here’s one person’s video list of the 10 Best Classic Rock Songs Ever.

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