Art & Inspiration Songs that mention a car or engine by name

And like a rocket

 

Living on Tulsa Time

I left Oklahoma driving in a Pontiac


A few well known musicians have done this song ,including Eric Clapton

 

I've Got a Rock 'n' Roll Heart [Eric Clapton]


I get off on '57 Chevy's
I get off on screaming guitar.
Like the way it gets me every time it hits me.
I've got a rock and roll, I've got a rock and roll heart.

 

LOOKING FOR THE HEART OF SATURDAY NITE Tom Waits " with my arm around my sweet one in my Oldsmobile"

 

"My Merry Oldsmobile"
"Blinded by the Light" ("Revved up like at deuce....")

 

My god...no one mentioned Johnny Cash yet!!- 'One Piece At A Time'.
Rev Horton Heat- 'Big Red Rocket Of Love'
Rev Horton Heat-'5-0 Ford'
Rev Horton Heat- 'Like a Rocket'....Muncie transmission, 4-on-the-floor. It's anaweful lotta metal for a '32 Ford. Got no fenders or runnin' boards....LIKE A ROCKET!

 

I'll throw in a fairly obscure one from T Rex. Mark Boland was maybe a bit obsessed with women and cars, and had a penchant for referring to women in car terminology. Lines from the song "Jeepster", "Girl I'm just a Jeepster for your love" and "I'd like to call you Jaguar, if I may be so bold".

I reckon most here know T Rex's "Bang a Gong". This line does not mention a specific car or engine, but it does reference a woman with car terminology, "You're built like a car, you've got a hubcap diamond star halo, you're built like a car, oh yeah".

Another fairly obscure one from War, "Who's Cadillac is That?".

 

Lord, Mr. Ford - Jerry Reed


The Corvette Song - George Jones


Three Window Coupe - The Rip Chords

 

Crown Victoria 51 -Jerry Lee Lewis


Rockin Little Roadster - Jan and Dean


Detroit Made - Bob Segar

 

Little Forty Ford -Leon Smith

 

No particular brand mentioned but Hot Rod by The Collins Kids

 

Hot Rod Man by Tex Rubinowitz

 

Dragster by Johnny Fortune

 

Squad Car by The Belairs

 

“Five- Oh Ford” by the Reverend Horton Heat: he blows up the flathead in his shoebox, and the car he thought he was racing turned out to be a cop chasing him. Great song.

 

More psychobilly than the others here, but Small Block and Flathead by the Koffin Kats comes to mind.

 

Hot Rod Honeymoon by Jeff Beck.
I know, Jeff doesn't sing but who can argue with a song title like that!
Give it a spin.

 

More specific.... Night Moves...Back seat of my 60 Chevy

 

Rhino used to put out a CD Box set called "Hot Rods & Custom Classics". I still listen to mine in the shop. Each disk starts with a radio commercial or interview track.

Track Listings
Disc: 1
1. New Car Attitude - Hot Rods & Custom Classics
2. Action Packed - Ronnie Dee
3. Stick Shift - The Duals
4. Hot Rod Man - Tex Rubinowitz
5. Hotrod Gang - Stray Cats
6. Cruisin' - Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps
7. Radar Love - Golden Earring
8. Mercury Blues - David Lindley
9. Maybellene - Chuck Berry & His Combo
10. The Ballard Of Thunder Road - Robert Mitchum
11. Forty Miles Of Bad Road - Duane Eddy(His 'Twangy' Guitar & The Rebels)
12. SS 396 - Paul Revere & The Raiders
13. See The U.S.A. In Your Chevrolet - Dinah Shore
14. Little Deuce Coupe - The Beach Boys
15. Hot Rod - The Collins Kids
16. Mr. Highway Man (Cadillac Daddy) - Howlin' Wolf
17. Lost Highway - Hank Williams
18. Highway Patrol - Junior Brown
19. Heavy Traffic Ahead - Bill Monroe
20. Radar - Mr. Bear & His Bearcats
21. Motorhead Baby - Johnny 'Guitar' Watson
22. Led Sled - Denny Freeman
23. Rev Off - Steve Wertheimer's 1951 Mercury Custom & Mike Young's 1960 Chevrolet 'Exotica' Impala

Disc: 2
1. Rockin' Down The Highway - The Dobbie Brothers
2. Hey Little Cobra - The Rip Chords
3. Hot Rod Queen - Deke Dickerson & The Ecco - Fonics
4. Hot Rod Lincoln - Johnny Bond
5. Hot Rod Race - Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan
6. Drag Race - Hot Rods & Custom Classics
7. Draggin' - Curtis Gordon
8. Dragster - Johnny Fortune
9. Race With The Devil - Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps
10. Devil In My Car - The B - 52's
11. Ride On Josephine - George Thorogood & The Destroyers
12. Rocket '88' - Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats
13. Key To The Highway - Little Walter & His Jukes
14. Low Rider - War
15. Whittier Blvd. - Thee Midniters
16. Every Woman I Know - Billy 'The Kid' Emerson
17. One Piece At A Time - Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Three
18. Cadillac Assembly Line - Albert King
19. I Want A Lavendar Cadillac - Maurice King & His Wolverines
20. Bring My Cadillac Back - The Knighmares
21. Pink Cadillac - Sammy Masters & His Rocking Rhythm
22. Transfusion - Nervous Norvus
23. Crawling From The Wreckage - Dave Edmunds
24. Dead Man's Curve - Jan & Dean
25. James Dean 1955 Interview - Hot Rods & Custom Classics

Disc: 3
1. Let's Go For A Ride - The Collegians
2. On The Road Again - Canned Heat
3. Drive South - John Hiatt
4. I Gotta New Car - Big Boy Groves & Band
5. No Money Down - Chuck Berry & His Combo
6. Dear Dad - Dave Edmunds
7. Little Forty Ford - Leon Smith
8. '41 Ford - The Grand Prix
9. '64 Ford - Phranc
10. Stolen Car - The Green Hornets
11. Go Lil' Camaro Go - Ramones
12. Road Runner - Bo Diddley
13. Beep Beep - The Playmates
14. Black & White Thunderbird - The Delicates
15. Pink Thunderbird - Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps
16. '54 Corvette - The Customs
17. Sting Ray - The Routers
18. Route 66 Theme - Nelson Riddle
19. Gas Money - Jan & Arnie
20. Gasoline Alley - Rod Stewart

Disc: 4
1. Mustang Sally - Wilson Pickett
2. Hopped-Up-Mustang - Arlen Sanders
3. Wild, Wild Mustang - Dick Dale & His Del-Tones
4. 409 - The Quads
5. Automobiles - The Spaniels
6. V-8 Ford Blues - Mose Allison
7. Pontiac Blues - Sonny Boy Williamson
8. G.T.O. - Ronny & The Daytonas
9. Go Go G.T.O. - Carol & Cheryl
10. Bite Bite Barracuda - Buddy Randell & The Knickerbockers
11. Ford V-8 - Honey Boy Allen
12. No Particular Place To Go - Chuck Berry
13. Four In The Floor - The Shutdowns
14. Big Green Car - Jimmy Carroll
15. Spark Plug - Four Teens
16. Buick 59 - The Medallions
17. Freeway - The Fugitives
18. Two Lane Highway - Pure Prairie League
19. Six Days On The Road - Dave Dudley
20. Wheels - Flying Burrito Bros.

 

Yep
American Pie by Don Mclean.
"Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry".

 

Stay Cats Hot Rod Gang

Well, there's a forty-nine merc goin' round
Ridin' bout half an inch off of the ground
I'm in a hotrod gang I'm in a hotrod gang
I'm in a hotrod gang I'm in a hotrod gang
Boom boom shang a lang shimmy shimmy shoo wop bang bang

four barrel carburator with a dual exhaust
Don't worry what I spend just forget about the cost
I'm in a hotrod gang I'm in a hotrod gang
I'm in a hotrod gang I'm in a hotrod gang
Boom boom shang a lang shimmy shimmy shoo wop bang bang

Thirty one ford with a flat head merc
Channelled too low I'm a real gone jerk
I'm in a hotrod gang I'm in a hotrod gang
I'm in a hotrod gang I'm in a hotrod gang
Boom boom shang a lang shimmy shimmy shoo wop bang bang

Oh hotrod car just movin' on down the line
Hotrod car just movin' on down the line
Well hey pretty baby one day I'm gonna make you mine

We're gonna rip off the fender and chop down the top
Put her in gear and then we'll rock
I'm in a hotrod gang I'm in a hotrod gang
I'm in a hotrod gang I'm in a hotrod gang
Boom boom shang a lang shimmy shimmy shoo wop bang bang

Thirty day guarantee real good deal
Everybody hollor burn them wheels
I'm in a hotrod gang I'm in a hotrod gang
I'm in a hotrod gang I'm in a hotrod gang
Boom boom shang a lang shimmy shimmy shoo wop bang bang

Oh hotrod car just movin' on down the line
Hotrod car just movin' on down the line
Well hey pretty baby one day I'm gonna make you mine

Oh hotrod car just movin' on down the line
Hotrod car just movin' on down the line
Hey pretty baby one day I'm gonna make you mine

 

Though not car/engine specific I used to crank “Gear Jammer” by George Thorogood & The Destroyers. Need to listen to some good’ol vinyl soon.

 

Jim Croche Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)

Oh rapid Roy that stock car boy
He too much to believe
You know he always got an extra pack of cigarettes
Rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve
He got a tattoo on his arm that say baby
He got another one that just say hey
But every Sunday afternoon he is a dirt track demon
In a '57 Chevrolet
Oh rapid Roy that stock car boy
He's the best driver in the land
He say that he learned to race a stock car
By runnin' shine outta Alabam'
Oh the demolition derby
And the figure eight
Is easy money in the bank
Compared to runnin' from the man
In Oklahoma City
With a five hundred gallon tank
Oh rapid Roy that stock car boy
He too much too believe
You know he always got an extra pack of cigarettes
Rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve
He got a tattoo on his arm that say baby
He got another one that just say hey
And Sunday afternoon he is a dirt track demon
In a '57 Chevrolet
Yeah Roy so cool
That racin' fool he don't know what fear's about
He do a hundred thirty mile an hour
Smilin' at the camera
With a toothpick in his mouth
He got a girl back home
Name of Dixie Dawn
But he got honeys all along the way
And you oughta hear 'em screamin'
For that dirt track demon
In a '57 Chevrolet
Oh rapid Roy that stock car boy
He too much to believe
You know he always got an extra pack of cigarettes
Rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve
He got a tattoo on his arm that say baby
He got another one that just say hey
But every Sunday afternoon he is a dirt track demon
In a '57 Chevrolet

 

Social Distortion -Ball and Chain

Well it's been ten years, and a thousand tears
And look at the mess I'm in
A broken nose and a broken heart,
An empty bottle of gin
Well I sit and I pray
In my broken down Chevrolet
While I'm singin' to myself
There's got to be another way
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
I'm lonely and I'm tired
And I can't take any more pain
Take away, take away
Never to return again
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
Well I've searched and I've searched
To find the perfect life-
A brand new car and a brand new suit
I even got me a little wife
But wherever I have gone
I was sure to find myself there
You can run all your life
But not go anywhere
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
I'm lonely and I'm tired
And I can't take any more pain
Take away, take away
Never to return again
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
Well I'll pass the bar on the way
To my dingy hotel room
I spent all my money
Been drinkin' since a half past noon
I'll wake there in the mornin'
Or maybe in the county jail
Times are hard getting harder
I'm born to lose and destined to fail
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
I'm lonely and I'm tired
And I can't take any more pain
Take away, take away
Never to return again
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain



Two seconds into the video-

 

SONGS THAT MENTION A CAR OR ENGINE BY NAME.

 

"I'll buy you a Chevrolet..."

Chevrolet -- Foghat / Ed & Lonnie Young / Robben Ford / Taj Mahal

 

"I'll buy you a Chevrolet...I'll buy you a Ford Mustang...I'll buy you a Cadillac..."

Hey Gyp -- The Animals

 

Now I'm a pretty big man around this town
I got me the hottest little Chevy around
My sweet little '66
She got a yellow front fender and a gray one on the back
But my income tax is comin' and I'm gonna paint her black
Sweet little '66
She got the 396, she got the four on the floor
And those stickers in the window ain't just for show
My sweet little '66
Now old Bubba and me built her back in '79
Then he went into the army so now she's all mine
Sweet little '66
I used to run her down on River Road and make a little dough
Can't afford another ticket so I'm laying kinda low
Me and my '66
Now she ain't too good on gasoline, she burns a little oil
But she was built by union labor on American soil
Sweet little '66
So when your Subaru is over and your Honda's history
I'll be blastin' down some back road with my baby next to me
In my sweet little 66

Steve Earle and The Dukes

 

Ministry - Jesus Built my Hotrod. A lot of lyrics to get to the punchline at the end.