Motorcycle songs

Today's iPod playlist was all motorcycle-related songs.

The Other Kind, Steve Earle
I'm back out on that road again, turn this beast into the wind
There are those that break and bend, I'm the other kind
I'm the other kind

See, it used to be I was really free, didn't need no gasoline to run
Before you could say Jack Kerouac and turn your back, I'd be gone
Yeah but nowadays I got me two good wheels
And I seek refuge in aluminum and steel
It takes me out there for just a little while
And the years fall away with every mile

The Motorcycle Song, Arlo Guthrie
I don't want a pickle, I just want to ride on my motorsikkle!
I don't wan't a tickle, I just want to ride on my motorsikkle!
I don't want to die, I just want to ride on my motorcy.......cle!

Bat out of Hell, Meatloaf
I'm gonna hit the highway like a battering ram, on a silver and black phantom bike
When the metal is hot and the engine is hungry, and we're all about to see the light....

I can see myself, tearing up the road faster than any other boy has ever gone
And my skin is rough but my soul is ripe
Ano ones gonna stop me now, I gotta make my escape
But I can't stop thinking of you
And I never see the sudden curve til it's way too late
No I never see the sudden curve til it's way too late
Then I'm dying on the bottom of a pit in the blazing sun,
Torn and twisted at the foot of a burning bike
And I think somebody somewhere must be tolling a bell
And the last thing I see is my heart, still beating and breaking out of my body
And flying away like a bat out of hell

New Sensations, Lou Reed
I took my GPZ out for a ride
The engine felt good between my thighs
The air felt cool, its was 40 degrees outside

I rode to Pennsylvania near the Delaware gap
Sometimes I got lost and had to check the map
I stopped at a roadside diner for a burger and a coke

There were some country folk and some hunters inside
Somebody got themselves married and somebody died
I went to the juke box and played a hillbilly song

They was arguing about football as I waved and went outside
And I headed for the mountains feeling warm inside
I love that GPZ so much, you know that I could kiss her

Ghost Rider, Rush
(of course, the whole song is about motorcycling, so here's an excerpt I especially like):

Sunrise in the mirror, lightens that invisible load
Riding on a nameless quest, haunting that wilderness road
Like a ghost rider

Just an escape artist, racing against the night
A wandering hermit, racing toward the light

From the white sands
To the canyon lands
To the redwood stands
To the barren lands

Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway American dream
At night we ride through mansions of glory on suicide machines
Sprung from cages out on highway 9,
Chrome wheeled, fuel injected and steppin out over the line....

...baby I'm just a scared and lonely rider
But I gotta find out how it feels
I want to know if love is wild, girl I want to know if love is real

Unknown Legend, Neil Young
Somewhere on a desert highway, she rides a Harley-Davidson
Her long blonde hair flyin in the wind
She's been runnin half her life
The chrome and steel she rides, colliding with the very air she breathes
The air she breathes.

Motorcycle Mama, Neil Young
Motorcycle Mama, won't you lay your big spike down
Motorcycle Mama, won't you lay your big spike down
I always get in trouble when you bring it round
Motorcycle Mama, won't you lay it down.

I'm runnin', I'm runnin', I'm runnin', down the proud highway
Yeah, I'm runnin', I'm runnin', I'm runnin' down the proud highway
And as long as I keep movin' I won't need a place to stay.

----

OK, readers, what else have you got? Any other good ones I'm missing?

Comments

[SBL Stephen]

Here's a couple:

Born To Be Wild: Steppenwolf (the classic)

"Get your motor running
Head out on the highway
Looking for adventure
In whatever comes our way."

Ride The Wind: Poison

"Hearts of fire
Streets of stone
Modern warriors
Saddle iron, horses of chrome

Taste the wild
Lick the wind
Like something they never saw before
Their jaws dropping to the floor
Steel made of soul and sin

Rebels born without a care
And the day he listens
Only to fly where eagles dare
And the night she whispers

Ride the wind
Never coming back until I touch the midnight sun
Ride the wind
Never coming back again

Painted flesh
Loyalty
Humble pride
Just as far as the eye can see

Stories told
Two old friends
Of battle scars and lonely bars
And nights the rain wouldn't end

Here's to withered eyes wearing gypsy smiles
And the day he listens
Here's to lovely ladies and a million miles
And the night she whispers

Of all the truths and lies
And stories of riders in the sky
They say only the bravest try
Where eagles and angels dare to fly"

Actually, doing a search on "motorcycle lyrics" turns up quite a few hits. I thought this one was cute:

Motorcycle Cowboy: Merle Haggard

"Yeah I love my biker baby
She loves her guitar picking pal
Yeah I love my Harley mama
She loves her guitar pickin pal
I'm her motorcycle cowboy
She's my long tall gal.

Yeah I ain't got no driveway
Park my hog out on the lawn
I ain't got no driveway
Park my mean old hog out on the lawn
Well I ain't got me much money
Got me a long tall blonde.

Oh ley, oh a ley, oh a ley hee hooo."

[carolyn]

Sweet! I'll add those to my iTunes playlist at work tomorrow! Keep 'em coming! :)

[Ken Haylock]

"Motorbikin'" - Chris Spedding

Motorbikin', motorbikin', motorbikin', motorcycling
Movin' on the queens' highway
Lookin' like a streak of lightnin'
If you gotta go, go, gotta go motorbike ridin'
Listen to me and I'll tell you no lie
Too fast to live, too young to die
I bought a new machine and then they say
It takes your breath away

Motorbikin', motorbikin', motorbikin', motorcycling
Movin' on the queens' highway
Lookin' like a streak of lightnin'
Baby won't you come with me
I'll take you where you wanna be

Here I am again, I'm dressed in black
I got my baby, she's ridin' up back
We're doin' about ninety-five
I said: Oh, it's good to be alive

Motorbikin', motorbikin', motorbikin', motorcycling
Movin' on the queens' highway
Lookin' like a streak of lightnin'
If you gotta go, go, gotta go motorbike ridin'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB9Ztv_wMD0&search=sped

[James]

I can't believe no one mentioned Bon Jovi, Dead or Alive.

"Cuz I'm a cowboy; On a steel horse I ride.
I'm wanted (wanted), Dead or Alive"

[Ricky]

Jesus and Mary Chain's "The Living End" from Psychocandy.

Although it doesn't seem mention motorcycles per se, I'm rather partial to The Vines' hit "Ride".

Henry Rollins did a nice cover of Suicide's "Ghost Rider" a while back, its not the same as that Rush song.

As a Kawasaki fan, I have to get that Lou Reed song now, thanks!

[Big Ben]

Awesome post.

By the way, the book "Ghost Rider", by Rush's drummer, is great too. Recommended reading for bikers.

[stephanie]

Also by Arlo: "Highway in the Wind"

Sail with me into the unknown void that has no end,
swept along the open road that don't seem to begin.
Come with me and love me, babe. I may be back again.
Meantime I'll keep sailing down this highway in the wind.

Evenings just begin the day, and follows with the night.
To love you and to be with you, say that it's alright.
Love me while you have me, babe. I may be back again.
Meantime I'll keep sailing down this highway in the wind.

There's times I feel like goin', times I want to stay.
Times that I ain't feeling well. Times I feel ok.
Now you have time to love me, babe. You may have time again.
Meantime I keep sailing down this highway in the wind.

The fortune teller tells me that I have somewhere to go.
I look and try to understand. I wonder how she knows.
So I must be going now. I'm losing time, my friend.
Looking for a rainbow down this highway in the wind.

[Michael]

If you're into techno or trance at all, check out "As The Rush Comes" by Motorcycle. It doesn't explicitly mention motorcycles but it certainly describes the riding experience in my opinion. Great beat for riding too!

Traveling somewhere, could be anywhere
There's a coldness in the air but I don't care
We drift deeper into sound
Life goes on
We drift deeper
Into the sound feeling strong
So bring it on
So bring it on

Embrace me
Surround me as the rush comes
Embrace me
Surround me as the rush comes
Embrace me
Surround me as the rush comes
Oh embrace me
Surround me as the rush comes

So bring it on
So bring it on

[Michael]

"Life Is A Highway" is pretty good too, either the original or the cover by Rascal Flatts.

Life's like a road that you travel on
When there's one day here and the next day gone
Sometimes you bend and sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your head to the wind
There's a world outside ev'ry darkened door
Where blues won't haunt you anymore
Where brave are free and lovers soar
Come ride with me to the distant shore
We won't hesitate
Break down the garden's gate
There's not much time left today

Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I wanna drive it all night long

Through all these cities and all these towns
It's in my blood and it's all around
I love you now like I loved you then
This is the road and these are the hands
From Mozambique to those Memphis nights
The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights

Knock me down get back up again
You're in my blood
I'm not a lonely man
There's no load I can't hold
Road so rough this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell 'em we're survivors

Gimme gimme gimme gimme yeah
If you're going my way
I wanna drive it all night long
There was a distance between you and I
A misunderstanding once
But now we look in the eye

There ain't no load that I can't hold
Road so rough this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell 'em we're survivors

Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I wanna drive it all night long

[SteveM]

I think a lot of people have heard this song, but haven't known it was about a dude meeting death on his Triumph.

Too Old to Rock and Roll, Too Young to Die
Jethro Tull

He once owned a Harley Davidson and a Triumph Bonneville.
Counted his friends in burned-out spark plugs
and prays that he always will.

But he's the last of the blue blood greaser boys
all of his mates are doing time:

married with three kids up by the ring road
sold their souls straight down the line.

And some of them own little sports cars
and meet at the tennis club do's.

For drinks on a Sunday --- work on Monday.
They've thrown away their blue suede shoes.

Now they're too old to Rock'n'Roll and they're too young to
die.

So the old Rocker gets out his bike
to make a ton before he takes his leave.

Up on the A1 by Scotch Corner
just like it used to be.

And as he flies --- tears in his eyes ---
this wind-whipped words echo the final take

and he hits the trunk road doing around 120
with no room left to brake.

And he was too old to Rock'n'Roll but he was too young to
die.

No, you're never too old to Rock'n'Roll if you're too young to
die.

[AndrewM]

Can't believe nobody mentioned Bob Seger:

'Roll Me Away'

Took a look down a westbound road,
Right away I made my choice
Headed out to my big two-wheeler,
I was tired of my own voice
Took a bead on the northern plains
And just rolled that power on

Twelve hours out of mackinaw city
Stopped in a bar to have a brew
Met a girl and we had a few drinks
And I told her what Id decided to do
She looked out the window a long long moment
Then she looked into my eyes
She didnt have to say a thing,
I knew what she was thinkin

Roll, roll me away,
Wont you roll me away tonight
I too am lost, I feel double-crossed
And Im sick of whats wrong and whats right
We never even said a word,
We just walked out and got on that bike
And we rolled
And we rolled clean out of sight

We rolled across the high plains
Deep into the mountains
Felt so good to me
Finally feelin free

Somewhere along a high road
The air began to turn cold
She said she missed her home
I headed on alone

Stood alone on a mountain top,
Starin out at the great divide
I could go east, I could go west,
It was all up to me to decide
Just then I saw a young hawk flyin
And my soul began to rise
And pretty soon
My heart was singin

Roll, roll me away,
Im gonna roll me away tonight
Gotta keep rollin, gotta keep ridin,
Keep searchin till I find whats right
And as the sunset faded
I spoke to the faintest first starlight
And I said next time
Next time
Well get it right

[Mark Charlwood]

Hi from England. Just thought that I would post this for you, as it combines bikes and ladies rather well.

"Unknown Legend" by Neil Young

She used to work in a diner
Never saw a woman look finer
I used to order just to watch
her float across the floor
She grew up in a small town
Never put her roots down
Daddy always kept movin',
so she did too.

Somewhere on a desert highway
She rides a Harley-Davidson
Her long blonde hair
flyin' in the wind
She's been runnin' half her life
The chrome and steel she rides
Collidin' with
the very air she breathes
The air she breathes.

You know it ain't easy
You got to hold on
She was an unknown legend
in her time
Now she's dressin' two kids
Lookin' for a magic kiss
She gets the far-away look
in her eyes.

Somewhere on a desert highway
She rides a Harley-Davidson
Her long blonde hair
flyin' in the wind
She's been runnin' half her life
The chrome and steel she rides
Collidin' with the very
air she breathes
The air she breathes.

[lizzie bolton]

how about this richard thompson song
1952 Vincent Black Lightning

Oh says Red Molly to James “That’s a fine motorbike.
A girl could feel special on any such like”
Says James to Red Molly “My hat’s off to you
It’s a Vincent Black Lightning, 1952.
And I’ve seen you at the corners and cafes it seems
Red hair and black leather, my favourite colour scheme”
And he pulled her on behind and down to Boxhill they did ride

Oh says James to Red Molly “Here’s a ring for your right hand
But I’ll tell you in earnest I’m a dangerous man.
For I’ve fought with the law since I was seventeen,
I robbed many a man to get my Vincent machine.
Now I’m 21 years, I might make 22
And I don’t mind dying, but for the love of you.
And if fate should break my stride
Then I’ll give you my Vincent to ride”

“Come down, come down, Red Molly” called Sergeant McRae
“For they’ve taken young James Adie for armed robbery.
Shotgun blast hit his chest, left nothing inside.
Oh come down, Red Molly to his dying bedside”
When she came to the hospital, there wasn’t much left
He was running out of road, he was running out of breath
But he smiled to see her cry
He said “I’ll give you my Vincent to ride”

Says James “In my opinion, there’s nothing in this world
Beats a 52 Vincent and a red headed girl.
Now Nortons and Indians and Greeves won’t do,
Ah, they don’t have a soul like a Vincent 52”
Oh he reached for her hand and he slipped her the keys
Said “I’ve got no further use for these.
I see angels on Ariels in leather and chrome,
Swooping down from heaven to carry me home”
And he gave her one last kiss and died
And he gave her his Vincent to ride

[Father O'KC]

The artist is David Wilcox, and the song is, "Eye of the Hurricane".

Tank is full, switch is on
Night is warm, cops are gone
Rocket bike is all her own
It's called a hurricane

She told me once it's quite a ride
It's shaped so there's this place inside
Where if you're moving you can hide
Safe within the rain

She wants to run away
But there's nowhere that she can go
Nowhere the pain won't come again
But she can hide
Hide in the pouring rain
She rides the eye of the hurricane

Tell the truth, explain to me
How you got this need for speed
She laughed and said "it might just be
The next best thing to love."

Hope is gone and she confessed
When you lay your dream to rest
You can get what's second best
But it's hard to get enough

She wants to run away
But there's nowhere that she can go
Nowhere the pain won't come again
But she can hide
Hide in the pouring rain
She rides the eye of the hurricane

We saw her ride so fast last night
Racing by a flash of light
Riding quick, the street was dark
A shining truck she thought was parked
It blocked her path, stopped her heart
But not the hurricane

She saw her chance to slip the trap
There was just the room to pass in back
But then it moved, closed the gap
She never felt the pain

She wants to run away
But there's nowhere that she can go
Nowhere the pain won't come again
But she can hide
Hide in the pouring rain
She rides the eye of the hurricane
She rides the eye of a hurricane

[Mark]

Hot Rod Heart, John Fogerty

[adrian]

bad motor scooter montrose,
the best one of all

[Jef Schilp]

Then again, there's the little known "Motorcycle" by Love & Rockets circa 1992. Good drivin beat & mean sound

Me and the motorcycle
Me and the motorbike
We just running around
My feet are off the ground
She's not gonna let me down
She's not gonna let me down

Me and this motorcycle
Me and this motorbike
You don't go too fast
You just set me free
It don't go too fast
Just let me out
Let me out

AHHHH - Motorcycle
AHHHH - We are free

I feel warm inside
On the motorbike
The wind is all around
On the motorbike
We are free
The motorcycle and me
The motorcycle and me
The motorcycle and me

[Martin Ward]

Sorry to say that Hot Rod Heart by John Fogerty is about driving a Buick, it's not about motorcycles. Still, that makes about twenty four bike songs!

[Martin Ward]

What about Silver Machine by Hawkwind or the absolute motorcycle classic Leader of the Pack?

|\/|artin

[Chuck]

Must be a young crowd, howbout' Black denim trousers by the cheers in 1955. Don't remember that one huh?

He wore black denim trousers and motorcycle boots
and a black leather jacket with an eagle on the back
He had a hopped up cycle that took off like a gun
That fool was the terror of highway 101

[Holly McLeod]

What an interesting evening this has been reading this. I recently wrote a couple of songs about my love for my Harley and the experience. One titled " Move to the front seat" a tribute to women getting their own License and riding their own bikes. Another is titled " Road King Queen " in honor of my 2007 HD Road King Custom in Suede Blue. You can see this bike and learn a bit more about me on my myspace page Display name HollyStone URL roadkingqueen07

[Kala]

It's not all about Motorcycles but cute song...

"For Your Love" Chris LeDoux

"Jump a motorcykle over half-a-dozen hondas"

[Tim]

How 'bout "Motorcycle Man" by Saxon?

[Ed]

This is great stuff. Though there is no mention of motorcycles in this one, how can you leave it out?
The Ballad of Easy Rider by Roger McGuinn.
The river flows
It flows to the sea
Wherever that river goes
That's where I want to be
Flow river flow
Let your waters wash down
Take me from this road
To some other town

All he wanted
Was to be free
And that's the way
It turned out to be
Flow river flow
Let your waters wash down
Take me from this road
To some other town

Flow river flow
Past the shaded tree
Go river, go
Go to the sea
Flow to the sea

The river flows
It flows to the sea
Wherever that river goes
That's where I want to be
Flow river flow
Let your waters wash down
Take me from this road
To some other town

[Nick]

Motorhead - IronHorse/Born To Lose

He rides a road, that don't have no end,
An open highway, without any bends,
Tramp and his stallion, alone in a dream,
Proud in his colours, as the chromium gleams,
On Iron Horse he flies, on Iron Horse he gladly dies,
Iron Horse his wife, Iron Horse his life
He lives his life, he's living it fast,
Don't try to hide, when the dice have been cast,
He rides a whirlwind, that cuts to the bone,
Loaded forever, and righteously stoned,
On Iron Horse he flies, on Iron Horse he gladly dies,
Iron Horse his wife, Iron Horse his life

Yeah, slide it to me!

One day one day, they'll go for the sun,
Together they'll slide, on the eternal run,
Wasted forever, on speed bikes and booze,
Yeah tramp and the brothers, all born to lose,
On Iron Horse he flies, on Iron Horse he gladly dies,
Iron Horse his wife, Iron Horse his life

Rollins Band - Ghost Rider

Alan Vega. Suicide. Ghostrider. Ghostrider.
Ghostrider, motorcycle hero.
Ghostrider, motorcycle hero.
Baby, baby, baby, baby, he's blazing away!
Like the star, star, stars in the universe, yeah.
Baby, baby, baby, he's looking so cute, yeah!
Riding around in a blue jumpsuit, yeah.
Baby, baby, baby, baby, he's screaming the truth!
America is killing its youth.
I see them trying, dying, choking, drowning, going down, going down.
I see you dying, dying.
Oh. You don't wanna break apart Ghostrider's heart.
He's riding through your town with his head on fire.
He's riding through your town with his head on fire.
Halo burning. Eyes are crying. Halo buring. Eyes are crying.
Ghostrider, Ghostrider, Ghostrider, Ghostrider keep riding.
Never stop riding.
Hey, hey, don't forget to burn, don't forget to burn.
Burn with fire. With fire, fire, fire, fire!
With fire! Yeah!

(not necissarily about motorcycles, but everyone's favorite motorcycle hero~! =D)

thanks for the songs.