Yesterday, I was listening to the 90s hit "Connected" from Stereo MCs and Interstate 5 is mentioned ("Interstate 5, stayin' alive"). That was the inspiration for this thread. Vanilla Ice makes a reference to A1A on "Ice Ice Baby".
I'm sure there are a lot more songs that mention highways but I'm drawing a blank now. Maybe some sleep will refresh my memory.
The Allman Brothers mention Highway 41 (US-41 in Georgia) in Ramblin' Man.
Skee-Lo, "I Wish": "You know I take the 110 to the 105 / Get off on Crenshaw tell my homies look alive"
Ice Cube, "Down for Whatever": "Sounds bumpin / Ain't that sumthin? / Jumped on the 110" (Don't know if he ran into Skee-Lo)
More:
- http://ericssonglists.blogspot.com/2006/09/erics-list-of-geography-songsstreets.html
- http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/roadsong.cfm
This isn't a song, but a movie which I decided to put here:
Wasn't 'Speed' filmed on the under construction I-105 in LA?
They Might Be Giants - The End of the Tour
never to part since the day we met
out on Interstate 91
I was bent metal, you were a flaming wreck
when we kissed at the overpass...
"Ventura Highway" - America
"On Broadway" - The Drifters among others
"Route 66" - various
In the close but no cigar category, there is the song "The Legend" by Jerry Reed which opens up "Smokey and the Bandit" with the following lyrics:
He left Atlanta back in '63
Haulin' him a load up to Tennessee
He hit Monteagle in the driving rain
So hard he couldn't even see the passing lane
Well he started downgrade when he lost a gear
He hit them brakes; found he had no air
The Monteagle grade is steep and long
And everybody that seen it thought the Bandit was gone
Pennsylvania Turnpike, I Love You by Dick Todd and the Appalachian Wildcats
The classic one here would be Lake Shore Drive in Chicago by Aliotta, Haynes & Jeremiah.
There's a road I'd like to tell you 'bout,
Lives in my hometown.
Lake Shore Drive the road is called,
And it'll take you up or down.
It starts up north from Hollywood,
Water on the drivin' side.
Concrete mountains rearin' up,
Throwin' shadows just about five.
http://www.mp3lyrics.org/a/aliotta-haynes-jeremiah/lake/
Quote from: Brandon on June 15, 2010, 12:01:33 PM
The classic one here would be Lake Shore Drive in Chicago by Aliotta, Haynes & Jeremiah.
There's a road I'd like to tell you 'bout,
Lives in my hometown.
Lake Shore Drive the road is called,
And it'll take you up or down.
It starts up north from Hollywood,
Water on the drivin' side.
Concrete mountains rearin' up,
Throwin' shadows just about five.
http://www.mp3lyrics.org/a/aliotta-haynes-jeremiah/lake/
I mentionned it in another thread elsewhere, here a video on Youtube who use the song
You're My Home by Billy Joel:
Home could be the Pennsylvania Turnpike
Indiana's early morning dew
high up in the hills of California
home is just another word for you.
A Sorta Fairytale by Tori Amos, to start off the first and second stanzas respectively:
on my way up north
up on the Ventura
I pulled back the hood
and I was talking to you
things you said that day
up on the 101
the girl had come undone
I tried to downplay it
Running on Empty by Jackson Browne:
In '65 I was seventeen, running up 101
I don't know where I'm running now, I'm just running on
The opening line for John Henry Split My Heart by Songs: Ohia is as follows:
I stood on the 66 highway...
America by Simon and Garfunkel:
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
We've all come to look for America...
Why, Georgia by John Mayer:
I am driving up 85 in the
kind of morning that lasts all afternoon
American Girl by Tom Petty:
She could hear the cars roll by
Out on 441...like waves, crashing on the beach...
The Okie alt-country band Cross Canadian Ragweed has an album and song called Highway 377 which is about a wreck on the illegitimate US 377 near Seminole.
"Why Georgia" by John Mayer:
"I am driving up 85 in the kind of morning that lasts all afternoon"
Hole's new single is called Pacific Coast Highway
(I have no idea what they lyrics are because I change the station when the song comes on)
Afterglow 61 by Son Volt is actually about US 61 ("US highway from north to south...")
speaking of 61, have we mentioned the Bob Dylan song?
Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 18, 2010, 12:48:23 PM
speaking of 61, have we mentioned the Bob Dylan song?
And I don't believe Howlin' Wolf's Highway 49 or Robert Johnson's Crossroads has been mentioned.
If I'm not mistaken, the Chingy/Snoop Dogg song "Holidae In" mentions a "highway 270". Since Chingy is from St. Louis, I'm assuming he's talking about I-270.
The Highway to Hell :-) :-)
Be well,
Bryant
Some British ones: http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9166 (http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9166)
The Road to Hell is all about the M25 but is never named as anything but "the road to hell".
Xzibit - Hey Now (Mean Muggin')
"On the 4-oh-5 in the car pool lane
Got to hit some corners, I'm ridin the cane"
I assume he means the 405 freeway.
U.S. 66 was mentioned in the song "Worthless," from the Brave Little Toaster.
I come from KC Missouri
And I got my kicks out of Route 66
Every truck stop from Butte to MO
Motown to Old Alabama
From Texarkana and east of Savanna from Tampa to Old Kokomo
Be well,
Bryant
Speaking of Son Volt, their album Trace is full of road references. "Route" references the decommissioning of US 66 ("Mother road remains, it provides no more, it can only take us away.") "Ten Second News" mentions "sunny 44 highway" (I-44). Their album Straightaways has a song called "Way Down Watson" which is about the Coral Court Motel on an old 66 alignment.
Their music is chock full of geographical references.
The New Jersey Turnpike was mentioned in the song "America" by Simon and Garfunkel:
"Kathy, I'm lost," I said, though I knew she was sleeping
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all gone to look for America
All gone to look for America
All gone to look for America
I'll post more when I think of some more songs.
Quote from: Bryant5493 on June 20, 2010, 08:04:13 PM
U.S. 66 was mentioned in the song "Worthless," from the Brave Little Toaster.
I come from KC Missouri
And I got my kicks out of Route 66
Every truck stop from Butte to MO
Motown to Old Alabama
From Texarkana and east of Savanna from Tampa to Old Kokomo
Be well,
Bryant
US 66 is a whole song itself-"Route 66". It's an old jazz standard written in 1946 and recorded by many different artists. For those who have never heard it, here are the words:
If you ever plan to motor west
Travel my way, take the highway that's the best
Get your kicks on Route 66
It winds from Chicago to L.A.
More than two thousand miles all the way
Get your kicks on Route 66
You go through St. Louie
Joplin, Missouri
And Oklahoma City looks mighty pretty
You'll see Amarillo
Gallup, New Mexico
Flagstaff, Arizona
Don't forget Winona
Kingman
Barstow
San Bernardino-won't you get hip to this timely tip
When you make that California trip
Get your kicks on Route 66
I like how all the towns mentioned in the song are in order from east to west ... except Winona, which is just east of Flagstaff!
Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 26, 2010, 12:00:52 AM
I like how all the towns mentioned in the song are in order from east to west ... except Winona, which is just east of Flagstaff!
I had never even heard of Winona, AZ until I heard the song. It's quite small compared to all the others. It's stuck in there mostly as a way to rhyme with "Flagstaff, Arizona". I first heard the song in high school when I was in a jazz choir and we sang it-it was kind of our signature song. On the list of cities portion of it, we had a different person in our group assigned to sing each city as a solo. Ironically, "Don't forget Winona" was the one assigned to me.
While no highways were mentioned in the song, the video to Mr. Mister's "Broken Wings" features a road map which shows the state of Nevada. You can see the cities of Reno and Carson City on there. A few seconds later, lead singer Richard Page is looking at the map and then tosses it away.
Convoy by C.W. Mcall. It mentions I-10, I-44, and a cloverleaf, and Toll roads my guess would be the NJTP from the lyrics.
BigMatt
I was meaning to look up the lyrics to "Convoy" but never got around to it. I thought for sure it would've mentioned a highway or two.
I'd thought the Johnny Cash song "I've Been Everywhere" would mentioned a highway but the lyrics I saw doesn't mention any. Keep in mind, I've never listened to the song from start to finish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwiaGBi5ces
Straylight Run (the members of that left and rejoined Taking Back Sunday) - Your Name Here (Sunrise Highway)
Quote from: PAHighways on June 15, 2010, 02:20:33 AMPennsylvania Turnpike, I Love You by Dick Todd and the Appalachian Wildcats
Since today is it's 70th Birthday, the PTC has an animated time line on their site (http://www.paturnpike.com/) with this song playing in the background.
From Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'":
"All the vampires out in the valley
Move west down Ventura Boulevard..."
Quote from: hm insulators on October 12, 2010, 03:39:15 PM
From Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'":
"All the vampires out in the valley
Move west down Ventura Boulevard..."
The same song makes reference to Mulholland Dr. as well.
Bruce Springsteen- Born to Run
"Sprung from cages out on highway 9" (US 9)
Carrie Underwood's famous "I Ain't in Checotah Anymore" mentions as its first line "Where 69 meets 40" which I'm guessing is likely Oklahoma.
US 69 meets I-40 in Checotah, OK. Which is where Carrie Underwood grew up. And she ain't there anymore. Apparently.
AZ's State Route 74 (Carefree Highway) has an entire song devoted to it sung by Gordon Lightfoot.
"Queen City," by the Leonard Croon Band.
Heading on I-85
Gassed up the Charger for a long drive.There was another song I heard that mentioned the New Jersey Turnpike, but I had no idea what the title was... althought the band sounded a lot like Social Distortion.
Quote from: signalman on October 15, 2010, 03:18:02 PM
Bruce Springsteen- Born to Run
"Sprung from cages out on highway 9" (US 9)
"Modern World" by Johathan Richman and The Modern Lovers
Out on Route 9
Looks bleak and nearly dyin'. (MA 9)
Close but no cigar
-Tom Cochrane "Life is a highway"
^^^
I like that version better than the Rascal Flatts version in Cars. (not that that version is bad)
Here's a line from Sheryl Crow:
"All I wanna do is have some fun, until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard."
As a former L.A. resident, someone had to do it eventually. :D
270 never crosses natural bridge road in the st. louis area. he was really referring to I-70 but perhaps it had to do with the way the song lays out
^^^^
What are you talking about? :confused:
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 16, 2010, 09:52:26 PM
US 69 meets I-40 in Checotah, OK. Which is where Carrie Underwood grew up. And she ain't there anymore. Apparently.
No, but there are signs along I-40 with her name on them ;)
A fairly new group, 3 Penny Acre has a song called "Highway 71".
Just learned about them last week, so I have to find the song.
There is no specific number mentioned, but Keith Urban's You'll Think of Me begins this way:
"Woke up early this morning 'round 4 AM, with the moon shining bright as headlights on the Interstate..."
French-Canadian singer/songwriter Jean-Pierre Ferland in the early 1970s did a song "Sur la route 11" (On highway 11) about PQ-11 (now renumbered PQ-117 from Montreal to Mont-Laurier, he did that song before Quebec's renumbering of the mid-1970s). I spotted a clip using the song but the videos aren't filmed on the former PQ-11.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Fx0fP4HVXo
Quote from: BigMatt on July 09, 2010, 06:12:44 PM
Convoy by C.W. Mcall. It mentions I-10, I-44, and a cloverleaf, and Toll roads my guess would be the NJTP from the lyrics.
BigMatt
Speaking of "Convoy", here a cover made by Canadian country singer Paul Brandt in 2004
Quote from: Stephane Dumas on January 31, 2011, 03:37:08 PM
French-Canadian singer/songwriter Jean-Pierre Ferland in the early 1970s did a song "Sur la route 11" (On highway 11) about PQ-11 (now renumbered PQ-117 from Montreal to Mont-Laurier, he did that song before Quebec's renumbering of the mid-1970s). I spotted a clip using the song but the videos aren't filmed on the former PQ-11.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Fx0fP4HVXo
So this means that the numbering used to be consistent with Ontario's.... or almost!. Interesting. (As QC-117 ends, it becomes ON-66 for a short while until it connects with ON-11.
Highway 20 ride by the Zac Brown Band
Quote from: Dr Frankenstein on February 03, 2011, 06:24:43 PM
So this means that the numbering used to be consistent with Ontario's.... or almost!. Interesting. (As QC-117 ends, it becomes ON-66 for a short while until it connects with ON-11.
Some numbers was consistent with Ontario mainly Hwy-2 (from the border to Dorion,it's PQ-338, then A-20 down to St-Pierre interchange and up to Quebec City, it's PQ-138) and Hwy-17 (now PQ-342). PQ-11 used to be a sort of loop by using PQ-117 and PQ-105 with PQ-107 playing the role of an alternate routing (PQ-11A). In LaVerendrye Park, PQ-117 was PQ-58 up its junction with PQ-113 (numbered PQ-58 up to Seneterre) while the remaining was numbered PQ-59.
No highway mentionned in this song but you can see lots of highways sightings in this video clip from Eric Lapointe titled "Terre Promise".
Quote from: mightyace on January 31, 2011, 10:37:15 AM
^^^^
What are you talking about? :confused:
He must be talking about a post I made on the first page about the rap song "Holidae In" that mentioned a highway 270.
Quote from: Stephane Dumas on February 05, 2011, 02:43:49 PM
No highway mentionned in this song but you can see lots of highways sightings in this video clip from Eric Lapointe titled "Terre Promise".
Good song!
Some highway sighting in this early 1990s clip from the band Petra with the song "Beyond Belief", there even a map from a Rand McNally road atlas sighting at 4:31 in the clip.
"Wrong Side Of Memphis"-Trisha Yearwood
"headed down 40 with my old guitar"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zu2OAIYMDk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zu2OAIYMDk)
Detroit's Woodward Avenue is mentioned in Bob Segar's
Fire Down Below. Gerry Rafferty sang about London's
Baker Street, where Sherlock Holmes lived.
Although it doesn't mention a specific road, Kraftwerk's
Autobahn from 1972 is, to my mind, the ultimate homage to the joy of freeway driving. Remixed in the early 90s, this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gChOifUJZMc) is an excellent edit of the 22-minute original. The sound effects were produced entirely on a moog synthesizer, and if you've never heard it I'm sure you'll have troubled believing it was produced so long ago.
And did anyone mention Aretha's
Freeway Of Love (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip_pjb5_fgA)? Opens with a beautiful black-and-white shot of a stack interchange and features a number of other traffic scenes (I've got it cranked to an ear-splitting volume right now - one of my absolute favorite pop songs of all time, and I'm not a big pop fan).
I absolutely love that song! It ranks up there with R-E-S-P-E-C-T and Natural Woman as the Queen of Soul's best hits of all time. Brings back memories of L.A. :)
"Freeway of Love", if I recall, doesn't mention a specific highway, which is why I didn't mention it.
Quote from: berberry on February 11, 2011, 10:32:38 AM
Kraftwerk's Autobahn from 1972 is, to my mind, the ultimate homage to the joy of freeway driving.
clearly these guys have never been on the 405. For that, I would suggest Razor's "Road Gunner".
Quote from: golden eagle on February 11, 2011, 11:04:38 AM
"Freeway of Love", if I recall, doesn't mention a specific highway, which is why I didn't mention it.
Depends on how you look at it. It's specific but fictional, as are the streets and exits mentioned. Let's see, there's the eponymous freeway, Better-Than-Ever Street, at least a couple of exits - one named Peace, another Love - and so on.
And the video certainly features real freeways and interchanges, although they aren't named.
Quote from: berberry on February 11, 2011, 10:32:38 AM
Detroit's Woodward Avenue is mentioned in Bob Segar's Fire Down Below. Gerry Rafferty sang about London's Baker Street, where Sherlock Holmes lived.
Although it doesn't mention a specific road, Kraftwerk's Autobahn from 1972 is, to my mind, the ultimate homage to the joy of freeway driving. Remixed in the early 90s, this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gChOifUJZMc) is an excellent edit of the 22-minute original. The sound effects were produced entirely on a moog synthesizer, and if you've never heard it I'm sure you'll have troubled believing it was produced so long ago.
My dad had the Autobahn LP from Kraftwerk (wins title for best roadgeek album cover ever), so I've heard the entire 22 minutes.
Quote from: berberry on February 11, 2011, 11:19:00 AM
Quote from: golden eagle on February 11, 2011, 11:04:38 AM
"Freeway of Love", if I recall, doesn't mention a specific highway, which is why I didn't mention it.
Depends on how you look at it. It's specific but fictional, as are the streets and exits mentioned. Let's see, there's the eponymous freeway, Better-Than-Ever Street, at least a couple of exits - one named Peace, another Love - and so on.
And the video certainly features real freeways and interchanges, although they aren't named.
How about that frame full of state name I-94 and Michigan US 25 cutouts?? Surprised Jake hasn't thrown that up on the Shield Gallery yet...
Quote from: Scott5114 on February 12, 2011, 01:13:10 AM
How about that frame full of state name I-94 and Michigan US 25 cutouts?? Surprised Jake hasn't thrown that up on the Shield Gallery yet...
dang, that's what I get for not having the patience to watch videos!
when I get home this weekend...
Roadhouse Dogs (a UK based band) has several songs that have references to various highways and rail lines in the USA (Route 62, Chain of Rocks, San Fernando Road, The Old Soo Line)
I'll won't forget Brak from Space Ghost singing a song about Highway 40
I am amazed no one has mentioned anything from John Mellencamp yet.
Minutes to Memories:
Another hot one out on Highway Eleven
This is my life, it's what I've chosen to do
Pink Houses:
There's a black man with a black cat livin' in a black neighborhood. He's got an interstate runnin' through his front yard. You know he thinks that he's got it so good.
It's a general one here but in the video, it is an I-65 shield.
Our Country:
From the East coast to the West Coast,
Down the Dixie Highway, back home
This is our country.
Some other songs i have in my music library that have references to highways (even in generic terms):
Gin Blossoms - "Allison Road"
Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) - "Telegraph Road"
Jonh Mellencamp - "Rural Route"
Sheryl Crow - "Everyday Is A Winding Road"
Sheryl Crow - "Maybe Angels": "I took the I-95 down to Pensacola..."
Bob Seger - "Main Street"
Bruce Hornsby - "On The Western Skyline": "Rooftops sag on 2nd St..."
Counting Crows - "Sullivan Street"
Tom Petty - "Even The Losers": "Two cars parked on the overpass..."
Police - "Synchronicity II": "The secretaries pout and preen like cheap tarts on a red light street..."
Bon Jovi - "It's My Life": "My heart is like an open highway..."
Amanda Marshall - "Birmingham": "As the rain falls down upon the interstate..."
U2 - "Where The Streets Have No Name"
The Atlanta Hwy in the B52s "Love Shack"
Little Feat's "Let It Roll" (off the album of the same name) leads off with the lyric "Rollin' down Highway 95."
Bruce Springsteen's "Working on the Highway" (from the Born in the USA album) contains the lyric "Now I work for the county out on 95/All day I hold a red flag and watch the traffic pass me by." In "Reason to Believe" (off the Nebraska LP) the man standing over a dead dog "Got his car door flung open, he's standin' out on Highway 31."
Quote from: BigMattFromTexas on July 09, 2010, 06:12:44 PM
Convoy by C.W. Mcall. It mentions I-10, I-44, and a cloverleaf, and Toll roads my guess would be the NJTP from the lyrics.
BigMatt
How about CW McCall's
Night Rider (from the
Wolf Creek Pass album): "White lines are lasers burnin' holes in my eyes Feelin' like I'm hyponitized Think I'm gonna die. Interstate 80 gonna give me no sleep. It's just a winkin' and a blinkin' with a stinkin load of sheep."
Highway 41 is mentioned in Ramblin Man by the Allman Brothers.
US 19 is mentioned in Bob Segar's Nutbush City Limits, but it erroneous as TN 19 goes through the town in Tennessee that the song is about.
Highway 9 is mentioned in Springsteen's Born To Run.
US 441 is mentioned as the line Out on 441 in Tom Petty's American Girl.
Key West, FL's Caroline Street is in a song by Jimmy Buffett.
Quote from: roadman65 on February 14, 2012, 09:14:12 PM
Highway 41 is mentioned in Ramblin Man by the Allman Brothers.
US 19 is mentioned in Bob Segar's Nutbush City Limits, but it erroneous as TN 19 goes through the town in Tennessee that the song is about.
Highway 9 is mentioned in Springsteen's Born To Run.
US 441 is mentioned as the line Out on 441 in Tom Petty's American Girl.
Key West, FL's Caroline Street is in a song by Jimmy Buffett.
Florida's AIA is not only mentioned in a Jimmy Buffett song (
Tryin' to Reason with Hurricane Season), but it's the title of the album that song is on as well.
From the Mamas and Papas' Creeque Alley:
When Cass was a sophomore, planned to go to Swathmore
But she changed her mind one day.
Standin' on the turnpike, thumb out to hitchhike,
"Take me to New York right away."
When Denny met Cass he gave her love bumps;
Called John and Zal and that was the Mugwumps.
McGuinn and McGuire couldn't get no higher
But that's what they were aimin' at.
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass.
Opening verse to Frank Sinatra's My Way:
And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, I'll say it clear,
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.
I've lived a life that's full.
I've traveled each and ev'ry highway;
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.
Chorus to Jim Corce's I Got A Name:
Movin' me down the highway
Rollin' me down the highway
Movin' ahead so life won't pass me by
The Long and Winding Road by The Beatles (off their Abbey Road album)
Opening verse to Bob Seger's Turn The Page as well as the chorus:
On a long and lonesome highway
East of Omaha
You can listen to the engine
Moanin' out his one note song
You can think about the woman
Or the girl you knew the night before
But your thoughts will soon be wandering
The way they always do
When you're ridin' sixteen hours
And there's nothin' much to do
And you don't feel much like ridin',
You just wish the trip was through
Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin' star again
There I go
Turn the page
Chorus to Judas Priest's Heading Out to the Highway:
So I'm heading out to the highway
I got nothing to lose at all
I'm gonna do it my way
Take a chance before I fall
A chance before I fall!
Florida's A1A is also mentioned in "Ice, Ice, Baby" by Vanilla Ice.
Quote from: berberry on February 11, 2011, 10:32:38 AM
And did anyone mention Aretha's Freeway Of Love (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip_pjb5_fgA)? Opens with a beautiful black-and-white shot of a stack interchange and features a number of other traffic scenes (I've got it cranked to an ear-splitting volume right now - one of my absolute favorite pop songs of all time, and I'm not a big pop fan).
All of the scenes in that video are of Detroit and vicinity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHN-xag87Us - Farmers Blvd. (Our Anthem)by LL Cool J
Fountains of Wayne have a song called "I-95" on their album Traffic And Weather
In Train's "Save Me, San Francisco," they have a reference to CA-1.
It goes:
"Took the highway to the one, up the coast to catch some sun."
"Ventura Highway" by America
"Black Denim Trousers" by The Cheers- mentions the terror of highway 101
Quote from: PHLBOS on February 22, 2012, 05:58:01 PM
From the Mamas and Papas' Creeque Alley:
When Cass was a sophomore, planned to go to Swathmore
But she changed her mind one day.
Standin' on the turnpike, thumb out to hitchhike,
"Take me to New York right away."
When Denny met Cass he gave her love bumps;
Called John and Zal and that was the Mugwumps.
McGuinn and McGuire couldn't get no higher
But that's what they were aimin' at.
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass.
Opening verse to Frank Sinatra's My Way:
And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, I'll say it clear,
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.
I've lived a life that's full.
I've traveled each and ev'ry highway;
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.
Chorus to Jim Corce's I Got A Name:
Movin' me down the highway
Rollin' me down the highway
Movin' ahead so life won't pass me by
The Long and Winding Road by The Beatles (off their Abbey Road album)
Opening verse to Bob Seger's Turn The Page as well as the chorus:
On a long and lonesome highway
East of Omaha
You can listen to the engine
Moanin' out his one note song
You can think about the woman
Or the girl you knew the night before
But your thoughts will soon be wandering
The way they always do
When you're ridin' sixteen hours
And there's nothin' much to do
And you don't feel much like ridin',
You just wish the trip was through
Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin' star again
There I go
Turn the page
Chorus to Judas Priest's Heading Out to the Highway:
So I'm heading out to the highway
I got nothing to lose at all
I'm gonna do it my way
Take a chance before I fall
A chance before I fall!
Well, if you want to get technical...
From the Eagles' Take it to the Limit:
"So put me on a highway, show me a sign, and take it to the limit one more time."
And from Steppenwolf's Born to Be Wild:
"Don't you want to run and head out on the highway? Looking for adventure, for whatever comes our way..."
Five For Fighting's song "Above the Timberline" mentions I-405.
Quote from: CentralCAroadgeek on April 02, 2012, 04:39:08 PM
In Train's "Save Me, San Francisco," they have a reference to CA-1.
It goes:
"Took the highway to the one, up the coast to catch some sun."
Their newest CD is called
California 37. I'm guessing this is a state highway.
Quote from: golden eagle on June 25, 2012, 09:50:49 PM
Quote from: CentralCAroadgeek on April 02, 2012, 04:39:08 PM
In Train's "Save Me, San Francisco," they have a reference to CA-1.
It goes:
"Took the highway to the one, up the coast to catch some sun."
Their newest CD is called California 37. I'm guessing this is a state highway.
The cover has a CA-37 shield on it, so yes.
Quote from: Scott5114 on June 25, 2012, 11:48:30 PM
Quote from: golden eagle on June 25, 2012, 09:50:49 PM
Quote from: CentralCAroadgeek on April 02, 2012, 04:39:08 PM
In Train's "Save Me, San Francisco," they have a reference to CA-1.
It goes:
"Took the highway to the one, up the coast to catch some sun."
Their newest CD is called California 37. I'm guessing this is a state highway.
The cover has a CA-37 shield on it, so yes.
The songs in it are pretty sweet as well, as I own the album on my iPod. The song "California 37" is pretty cool as well.
Quote from: Henry on April 07, 2012, 11:49:34 PM
Quote from: PHLBOS on February 22, 2012, 05:58:01 PM
From the Mamas and Papas' Creeque Alley:
The Long and Winding Road by The Beatles (off their Abbey Road album)
And from Steppenwolf's Born to Be Wild:
"Don't you want to run and head out on the highway? Looking for adventure, for whatever comes our way..."
Actually, "The Long and Winding Road" is from
Let it Be.And the opening line from "Born to be Wild" is "Get your motor runnin'/Head out on the highway..."
One of my all-time favorites:
"It's a highway song/Singin' on and on/On and on
Highway song/Is as lonely/As the road I'm on"
"Highway Song" by Blackfoot.
"Highways and dance halls/A good song takes you far"
Jackson Browne
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 12, 2010, 09:11:58 PM
Quote from: hm insulators on October 12, 2010, 03:39:15 PM
From Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'":
"All the vampires out in the valley
Move west down Ventura Boulevard..."
The same song makes reference to Mulholland Dr. as well.
"It's a long day, living in Reseda, there's a freeway, running through the yard..." That's gotta be the Ventura Freeway, or possibly the San Diego Freeway.
Quote from: golden eagle on June 25, 2012, 09:50:49 PM
Quote from: CentralCAroadgeek on April 02, 2012, 04:39:08 PM
In Train's "Save Me, San Francisco," they have a reference to CA-1.
It goes:
"Took the highway to the one, up the coast to catch some sun."
Their newest CD is called California 37. I'm guessing this is a state highway.
"Save Me, San Francisco", meanwhile, is not from that album. It's from their previous album called... drumroll...
Save Me, San Francisco.
There's "Interstate Love Song" by Stone Temple Pilots, but it doesn't feature any lyrics specifically about roads.
"I Left My Wallet In El Segundo" by A Tribe Called Quest is about a trip from NYC to California, "Drove down the Belt, got on the Conduit / Came to a toll, we paid and went through it" is the closest to actual road references.
"Seventy-nine coupe DeVille vertical Caddy grill / Interstate 65 headed down to Cashville"
-Nappy Roots, "Awnaw"
The song "85" by Youngbloodz ft. Outkast features a few references to (you guessed it) Interstate 85.
"I know you waitin' for daddy, it won't be long shorty
Be patient cause I'm comin' to you
Ridin' dirty on 85, slow takin' it easy
I don't want nothin' to keep me from you"
"See I ain't playin' around, got half a tank of gas, I'm 85 southbound
It's a long a** way, I'm from the 20 side of things
She said it was dead serious hot, like some lighter flames"
"I got new shoes on the ride, rollin' down 95"
-Pretty Ricky, "Your Body"
Nanci Griffith: "Gulf Coast Highway" and "Ford Econoline"....
New Jersey Turnpike
Riding on wet night
Beneath the refinery's glow
Out where the great black rivers flow
License, registration, I ain't got none
But I got a clear conscience about the things that I done
http://www.lyricsdepot.com/bruce-springsteen/state-trooper.html
Todd Rundgren - When the Shit Hits the Fan/Sunset Blvd:
Earthquake in new york city,
The chrysler building fell in my yard
But when the shit hits the fan,
I think I'll have to make my way
Back to sunset boulevard
The ira has just hit london,
They blew up half of scotland yard
But when the shit hits the fan,
I guess I'll try to make my way
Back to sunset boulevard
Cruisin' down a mountain highway,
Someone's cut the brakes on my car
But when the shit hits the fan,
I know I have to get my ass
Back to sunset boulevard
Death cab for Cutie: 405
I took the 405 and drilled a stake down into your center,
And stated that it's never ever been better than this.
I hung my favorite shirt on the floorboard, wrinkled up from pulling, pushing, and tasting, tasting...
You keep twisting the truth
That keeps me thrown askew.
Misguided by the 405 'cause it lead me to an alcoholic summer.
I missed the exit to you parents' house hours ago.
Red wine and the cigarettes: hide your bad habits underneath the patio, patio.
You keep twisting the truth
That keeps me thrown askew.
You keep twisting the truth
No specific highway but this video using various roads pictures with the song "Carefree highway" by Gordon Lightfoot is very nice.
John Mayer's song
Why Georgia begins with these lines:
QuoteI am driving up 85 in the
Kind of morning that lasts all afternoon,
Just stuck inside the gloom.
Four more exits to my apartment, but
I am tempted to keep the car in Drive
And leave it all behind.
His career blossomed while he was living in Atlanta. I-85.
Just heard this on Pandora right now, 405 by Death Cab For Cutie. It probably refers to the Washington I-405 since the band is based in Bellingham.
Train's recent hit number Drive By made the top ten in 13 countries.
You probably know it from the radio; but did you know it's on an album entitled California 37?
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2F5%2F53%2FCalifornia37.jpg&hash=41b38f86b535a84517e7876bdd3b66ae6355179f)
Quote from: CentralCAroadgeek on November 11, 2012, 06:59:10 PM
Just heard this on Pandora right now, 405 by Death Cab For Cutie. It probably refers to the Washington I-405 since the band is based in Bellingham.
The far better song entitled "405" is by Eve 6, and references the one everyone expects.
Michael Franks (http://michaelfranks.com/) in "Under the Sun" wrote:
QuoteSnow in my shoes
Mid-Winter blues
Have got me down
(Just point me South...let's go now)
The clothes on my back
Are too Pasternak
From sole to crown
Where in the hell's the snowplow?
Down 95
We'll come alive
And by the time we get somewhere Near Savannah
The song "Carry On" by Fun mentions being in "a bar off 75." What 75 they're referring to is beyond me. Considering that Fun in a NY band, I doubt that they're referring to I-75 or US-75, rather some state highway 75 in the Northeast.
Quote from: CentralCAroadgeek on March 27, 2013, 10:08:57 PM
The song "Carry On" by Fun mentions being in "a bar off 75." What 75 they're referring to is beyond me. Considering that Fun in a NY band, I doubt that they're referring to I-75 or US-75, rather some state highway 75 in the Northeast.
Probably is I-75 - could be a Florida, Cincinnati, etc. roadtrip or vacation they were on. There aren't really any notable 75s in the Northeast.
Sweet Baby James by James Taylor:
Now the First of December was covered with snow
And so was the Turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston
Lord, the Berkshires seemed dream-like on account of that frostin'
With ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go.
Well it's a long way to Richmond
Rollin' north on 95
With a redhead ridin' shotgun
And a pistol by my side
Tearin' down that highway
Like a modern day Bonnie and Clyde
We met at a truckstop
Johnson City, Tennessee....
from "Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde", Travis Tritt
Hey! My 1st member post!
Simon and Garfunkel sing about the New Jersey Turnpike in their song America in one of its lines. Catching a Greyhound bus for the New Jersey Turnpike to New York City is that line in the 1968 hit song to be more specific.
Cross Canadian Ragweed have a song called "Highway 377" which is about a wreck that occurred on the illegitimate section of US 377 in Oklahoma near Seminole.
2 years worth of posts and yet no one has mentioned the Jan & Dean classic, "Dead Man's Curve"!?!?!?
DMC is named for a stretch of Sunset Boulevard on the east end of Beverly Hills. Contrary to rumors, the song was not based on a true-life Jan or Dean experience...However, cartoon voice legend Mel Blanc had a near death experience there when the car he was driving was involved in a horrific crash there that briefly put him into a coma in the early 60s. Fortunately, he fully recovered.
And as far as the stack interchange mentioned previously in the "Freeway Of Love" video, I believe that is the interchange of I-96/Jeffries Freeway and the M-39/Southfield Freeway on Detroit's west side.
Quote from: roadman65 on April 09, 2013, 11:44:59 AM
Simon and Garfunkel sing about the New Jersey Turnpike in their song America in one of its lines. Catching a Greyhound bus for the New Jersey Turnpike to New York City is that line in the 1968 hit song to be more specific.
Mamas and Papas "California dreamin'" mentions the (NJ) Turnpike as well
Another band from Gainesville, like Tom Petty mentions 441 in a song called "I'm over you" I had the cassette... shows my age. But for the life of me I can not remember the name of the band... But I love the line from the song about 441 and I think of it on days when I have the windows down, sunroof open and its not too hot.
" I wanna be, driving down highway 441
with the windows down.
Beer in one hand the radio blastin'"
no lectures on DUI now. Not swerving like I'm George Jones , just a beer
Emmylou Harris mentions I-95 in "Boulder to Birmingham"
"I want to listen to the sound of the trucks as they move down out on 95"
makes sense since she grew up outside Washington DC and was a part of the fold music scene there
The Wretched Ones song "Take Us To Your Leader" mentions "Highway (NJ) 21" in one of the first lines of the song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lgS1ttwU7c
Guess they encountered those aliens around Newark? :spin: :)
Quote from: jwolfer on May 10, 2013, 03:22:24 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on April 09, 2013, 11:44:59 AM
Simon and Garfunkel sing about the New Jersey Turnpike in their song America in one of its lines. Catching a Greyhound bus for the New Jersey Turnpike to New York City is that line in the 1968 hit song to be more specific.
Mamas and Papas "California dreamin'" mentions the (NJ) Turnpike as well
The song you're referring to is
Creeque AlleyQuote from: Verse from Creeque AlleyWhen Cass was a sophomore, planned to go to Swarthmore
But she changed her mind one day
Standin' on the turnpike, thumb out to hitchhike
"Take me to New York right away"
When Denny met Cass he gave her love bumps
Called John and Zal and that was the Mugwumps
McGuinn and McGuire couldn't get no higher
But that's what they were aimin' at
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
California Dreamin' mentions nothing about the east coast in its lyrics; although one vintage video of the some shows scenes of NH in the wintertime along with some LGS'.
There's a song by Zac Brown Band called Highway 20 Ride. I'm assuming it's not referring to the Highway 20, because it's country music and everything north of the Ohio River does not exist. He says "every time I turn that truck around at the Georgia line", so I'm assuming it's I-20 he's referring to.
Another country song, "When it rains it pours", by Luke Combs says 'ended up at a shell on I-65'.
Quote from: PHLBOS on August 28, 2019, 01:43:49 PM
Quote from: jwolfer on May 10, 2013, 03:22:24 PM
Mamas and Papas "California dreamin'" mentions the (NJ) Turnpike as well
The song you're referring to is Creeque Alley
Quote from: Verse from Creeque AlleyWhen Cass was a sophomore, planned to go to Swarthmore
But she changed her mind one day
Standin' on the turnpike, thumb out to hitchhike
"Take me to New York right away"
When Denny met Cass he gave her love bumps
Called John and Zal and that was the Mugwumps
McGuinn and McGuire couldn't get no higher
But that's what they were aimin' at
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
California Dreamin' mentions nothing about the east coast in its lyrics; although one vintage video of the some shows scenes of NH in the wintertime along with some LGS'.
My guess is that the confusion stemmed from the fact that
Creeque Alley contains the line "And California dreamin' is becomin' a reality".
Quote from: roadman65 on April 09, 2013, 11:44:59 AM
Simon and Garfunkel sing about the New Jersey Turnpike in their song America in one of its lines. Catching a Greyhound bus for the New Jersey Turnpike to New York City is that line in the 1968 hit song to be more specific.
The lyric that mentions the Turnpike is actually:
Quote
Kathy, I'm lost
I said
Though I knew she was sleeping
I'm empty and aching
And I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
It looks like they've all come
To look for America
The Greyhound bus reference (earlier in the song) is:
Quote
Kathy
I said
As we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
Michigan seems like a dream to me now
Readin' Rightin' Route 23 - by Dwight Yoakam (about moving from Kentucky to Columbus)
Breaker braker - The Outlaws (Height of the CB radio craze, includes the lyric 'Southbound 7-5)
You Can't Catch Me - by Chuck Berry (Don't you wish your car could spring wings on the New Jersey Turnpike?)
take me home, country roads.
Tom Rush's On The Road Again
Locked my door as the sun went down
Said goodbye to Boston town
Mass Turnpike to Route 15
Take me on down to the New York scene
And later in the song
Holland Tunnel to the Jersey Pike
Roll through Philly in the middle of the night
And hey, I'm on the road again
Dire Straits' Telegraph Rd (from their Love Over Gold album in 1982)
QuoteA long time ago came a man on a track
Walking thirty miles with a sack on his back
And he put down his load where he thought it was the best
Made a home in the wilderness
He built a cabin and a winter store
And he ploughed up the ground by the cold lake shore
And the other travellers came walking down the track
And they never went further, no, they never went back
Then came the churches, then came the schools
Then came the lawyers, then came the rules
Then came the trains and the trucks with their load
And the dirty old track was the Telegraph Road
Then came the mines, then came the ore
Then there was the hard times, then there was a war
Telegraph sang a song about the world outside
Telegraph Road got so deep and so wide
Like a rolling river
And my radio says tonight it's gonna freeze
People driving home from the factories
There's six lanes of traffic
Three lanes moving slow
I used to like to go to work but they shut it down
I've got a right to go to work but there's no work here to be found
Yes, and they say we're gonna have to pay what's owed
We're gonna have to reap from some seed that's been sowed
And the birds up on the wires and the telegraph poles
They can always fly away from this rain and this cold
You can hear them singing out their telegraph code
All the way down the Telegraph Road
Well, I'd sooner forget, but I remember those nights
Yeah, life was just a bet on a race between the lights
You had your hand on my shoulder, you had your hand in my hair
Now you act a little colder like you don't seem to care
But just believe in me baby and I'll take you away
From out of this darkness and into the day
From these rivers of headlights, these rivers of rain
From the anger that lives on the streets with these names
'Cause I've run every red light on memory lane
I've seen desperation explode into flames
And I don't wanna see it again
From all of these signs saying "sorry but we're closed"
All the way down the Telegraph Road
If you grew up around Houston, you might know the story of Telephone Rd.
https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/pearland/news/article/The-tale-of-Telephone-Road-9343913.php
Steve Earle's 'Telephone Road'
Rodney Crowell's 'Telephone Road'
Mark May's 'Telephone Road'
Did anyone mention "Dolphin Expressway" by Air Miami yet?
https://youtu.be/5WK-8wUPg7Q
Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited is also the name of the album it's on. Any other album titles with highway names other than the aforementioned California 37?
It took a couple of pages to mention Brucie's "Sprung from cages on Highway 9" but I don't think I saw from "Spirits in the Night"
Quote"Anybody want to go on up to Greasy Lake? It's about a mile down on the dark side of Route 88..."
It's the Lakewood half of the road so I don't blame anyone for not mentioning it.
Two other items that probably don't count are "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and my parody of Bryan Adams "Summer of '69" "It was the worst Christmas of my life... It was a flat on Route 69." in honor of a bike ride on 12/25/2016 where I got a flat on NJ Route 31 (formerly 69).
Not a highway but in The Dead's song Truckin there is the line sung by the late Jerry that is "Busted down on Bourbon Street." Bourbon Street is a road, though closed to automobiles, it may not be numbered, but sort of what the OP mentions.
I think I mentioned many already like 441 in Tom Petty's American Girl and the NJ Turnpike in the Simon & Garfunkel America. So I think this topic really outlived itself, but then again new songs do come into life each day as well.
Apologies if this was already mentioned:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnV7dTXlXxs
Quote from: roadman on August 28, 2019, 02:26:23 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on April 09, 2013, 11:44:59 AM
Simon and Garfunkel sing about the New Jersey Turnpike in their song America in one of its lines. Catching a Greyhound bus for the New Jersey Turnpike to New York City is that line in the 1968 hit song to be more specific.
The lyric that mentions the Turnpike is actually:
Quote
Kathy, I'm lost
I said
Though I knew she was sleeping
I'm empty and aching
And I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
It looks like they've all come
To look for America
The Greyhound bus reference (earlier in the song) is:
Quote
Kathy
I said
As we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
Michigan seems like a dream to me now
Another song with
Greyhound Bus in its lyrics is
On Broadway; originally done by the Drifters then later covered by George Benson for the 1980 movie
All that Jazz.
Quote from: On Broadway, The Drifters versionThey say that I won't last too long on Broadway (on Broadway)
I'll catch a Greyhound bus for home they all say (on Broadway)
But they're wrong, I know they are
I can play this here guitar
And I won't quit till I'm a star
On Broadway (on Broadway)
Quote from: PHLBOS on September 26, 2019, 10:36:20 AM
Another song with Greyhound Bus in its lyrics is On Broadway; originally done by the Drifters then later covered by George Benson for the 1980 movie All that Jazz.
Quote from: On Broadway, The Drifters versionThey say that I won't last too long on Broadway (on Broadway)
I'll catch a Greyhound bus for home they all say (on Broadway)
But they're wrong, I know they are
I can play this here guitar
And I won't quit till I'm a star
On Broadway (on Broadway)
Then there's Harry Chapin's
Greyhound, from the 1972 album
Heads and Tales , which also featured his hit song
Taxi.
QuoteTake the Greyhound
It's a dog of a way to get around
Take the Greyhound
It's a doggone easy way
To get you down
Quote from: Finrod on September 22, 2019, 04:11:32 AM
Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited is also the name of the album it's on. Any other album titles with highway names other than the aforementioned California 37?
Peter Case, Hwy 62 (released in 2015)
(https://i0.wp.com/petercase.com/wp-content/uploads/HWY-62.jpg?zoom=1.5&fit=750%2C750&ssl=1)
https://petercase.com/discography/hwy-62/