Our previous Cadillac Car compilation generated a lot of response and therefore it made sense to continue this theme.
However without realizing I had already planted myself a seed in the comments which would give this theme a different twist…
‘Do you think there ever will be a lot of songs about present day cars? Toyota Blues? Pink Suzuki??’
That send me down the digital rabbit hole tracking down ‘other’ type of car songs.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover heaps of songs about non American brands as well as present day cars in various languages by at times not particularly well known artists, but overall intriguing enough to be featured here.
Whether British (the ‘naughty’ Ballad of the Mini Cooper), French (2CV, my mom used to drive one, great car!), German (the hilarious Volkswagen Thing), Japanese (Police In Toyota reggae!) or general (You're Still Not Safe In A Japanese Car & Tiny European Cars), you’re bound to have a good time here!
Question: What is your favourite non-American car song?
ReplyDeleteLink: https://mega.nz/file/6BcS3Dga#JY6I6KBQw4EOChdWmH6IwbLJs4SuapRxrnWrw-MPAr8
From
DeleteQua Vadis - Neerlands Hoop, about riding a Scania truck.
Cream – N.S.U.
The song lyrics start with Driving in my car … must be a NSU car. Yes, i know N.S.U. (Non-Specific Urethritis) is a form of venereal disease Eric Clapton is rumored to have been afflicted with at that time.
Untamed Youth – Go Go Ferrari
Bill Parsons – Hot Rod Volkswagen
Mark Foggo's Skasters - He drives a Volvo
Vernon Green & Medallions – ’59 Volvo
Manni Ickx - Manta Manta
Silent Rockers – My Blue Kapitän
i go for the ‘59 Volvo.
Gela
Great, a lot of hits here!
DeleteUntamed Youth, Is that the same ass The Outsiders (not the Dutch) - Go Go Ferrari? from 1964
DeleteAnd I cannot find Fleming Brown - That Big Red Ferrari
nor Jai Guru Dev - Porsche Priestess / The T. M. Bop
Severed Heads - Lamborghini
Die Goldenen Zitronen - Porsche, Genscher, Hallo HSV
The Fatima Mansions - Popemobile (They also have Gary Numan's Porsche)
Prowler - Pale Green Vauxhall Driving Man (originally censored to Pale green HMMMM driving man)
Charlie XCX - Porsche
Diamond Daddio's - Vauxhall A-Go-Go
Koen, Margootje in haar Peugeootje, in Madurodam (Wim Sonneveld) of De Jeep van Jansen (Toon Hermans) en anders Henk Wijngaard met M'n Dafje.
ReplyDeleteOK. I very much liked this one, when I was young. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGPHygnUU-I (Sonja Schmidt)
Wire , on the Manscape song Stampede, mentions the Trabant.
Thanks Richard! Actually I was looking for a song about the Daf car but couldn't find any... I listened to both Wim Sonneveld and Toon Hermans, but have no recollection of ever hearing these, similar for Sonja Schmidt... Wire is more my cup of tea :-)
DeleteThere is a Volkswagen joke on Lou Reed - Live Take No prisoners (Sweet Jane 8 minutes in)
DeleteIf you write as good as you talk, nobody reads you
What do I look like, Henny Youngman up here, man?
You know I found my wife in the living room in a Volkswagen
I said: how did you get there?
She said: made a ride through the kitchen
Janis Joplin's “Mercedes Benz”
ReplyDeleteHow could we ever forget?
DeleteNote that I included Taj Mahal's cover of that Janis classic!
DeleteI caught the milk train (she took the Deux Chevaux) on (Katrina and) the Waves first album Shock Horror.
ReplyDeleteLittle Daewoo on les Wampas 2003 album Never trust a guy who after having been a punk is now playing electro (love that title).
404 by les Civils Radio on the 1984 album of the same name (refering to the Peugeot car).
I thought the Dutch liked Citroën cars better
J from Europe.
Another Deux Chevaux song, brilliant!
DeletePeugeot, Citroën even the occasional Renault. France is the number one holiday destination for Joe with the Cap. We like all things French, Oh-la-la.
DeleteYou we know a lot about wine too, Du VIn, Vin Rougue, Vin Blanc, but Vin Aigre was not my favorite
'Chevy Baby' by Barracudas. Chevrolet Corvette Stingray - Mark Almond. Tom Robinson - Grey Cortina. Eddie & The Hot Rods - Cruisin' (In The Lincoln). Die Toten Hosen - Opel-Gang ( ford, fiat, opel in text lyrics)
ReplyDeleteGreat suggestions! Lots of songs (good and bad) about Chevrolets, including "Brand New Chevy" by the Devil Dogs (and covered by The Muffs).
DeleteThe band Zeke did Hemicuda and Galaxie 500. The Modern Lovers did Dodge Veg-o-Matic. And of course there's Hot Rod Lincoln...
Clearly more volumes in this series are necessary?!
DeleteTom Heinl - Pinto Squire could easily be the most american car song ;) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6bpmfcdZRs
DeleteThanks, another new one for me!
DeleteIf you ever get back to American cars, Marc Cohn's "Silver Thunderbird" is a really good character study song...
ReplyDeletethis comp made me think of it : "and the foreign car's absurd..."
Nice! This one made me think of John Lydon warbling "Drive to the forest in a Japanese car..."
DeleteYes true observation, Foreign Cars ARE absurd, so I drive a Volkswagen
DeleteFor me, it's original version of The Bachelors' BEEP BEEP which was re-recorded for the U.K. market with a Bubble Car replacing the U.S. version's Nash Rambler--which wasn't available in England. Here's a link to the U.K. version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsLlRbbOu7Y
ReplyDeleteThe good(?) old days of different versions of the same song in the US and the UK, thanks Stinky!
DeleteJust makin' sure that we have all the foreign brands mentioned so we can slap some tariffs on 'em.
ReplyDeleteChuck Berry - Jaguar And Thunderbird
Dangerous Birds - Alfa Romeo
Episode Six - Mighty Morris Ten
Luxurious Panthers - Hot Rod Nissan
Revells - Lotus 23
Urban Disturbance - Wild Boys In Cortinas
and while non-brand-specific, these songs definitely specify preferences:
King Sisters - The Guy In The Foreign Sports Car
William F. James - Foreign Car Craze
Can't find a Fiat or Yugo song........
oh wow, I had forgotten "Alfa Romeo" by the Dangerous Birds -- and I own that single!
DeleteThanks efredd, apart from Chuck's all those are new to me!
DeleteGilberto Gil's "Volks Volkswagen Blues" is the first thing that came to mind but for some reason I thought it was a Caetano Veloso song (all those Tropicalia artists seem to play each other's songs anyway!).
ReplyDeletenot my favorite but ... (when NDW went downhill)
ReplyDeleteMarkus - Ich will Spass https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW7lB7p0Eow
Mein Maserati fährt Zweihundertzehn - Schwups die Polizei hat's nicht gesehn
my Maserati makes 210 - the cops haven't seen