The hot rod poetry of Chuck Berry

If you hadn’t heard the news, Chuck Berry died over the weekend. The music pioneer was 90 years old and although he didn’t invent Rock n Roll all alone, he had quite an influence on every artist from the Beatles and Rolling Stones to Bruce Springsteen during his amazing career. He was the ‘whole package’ in the 50s rock world because he could write great songs as well as sing and play guitar (just like he was ringing a bell). Thinking about his library a bit more, I realize that Chuck sang about cars as a major story element in the majority of his hot songs. I remember “You Can’t Catch Me” for the catchy rhythm and hot rod lyrics:

New Jersey Turnpike in the wee wee hours
I was rollin’ slowly ’cause of drizzlin’ showers
Here come a flat-top, he was movin’ up with me
Then come wavin’ goodbye in a little’ old souped-up jitney
I put my foot in my tank and I began to roll
Moanin’ siren, ’twas the State Patrol…

This is poetry, my friends. Nobody writes songs about driving cars like this anymore.

How about ‘No Particular Place To Go’:

Riding along in my automobile
My baby beside me at the wheel
I stole a kiss at the turn of a mile
My curiosity runnin’ wild
Crusin’ and playin’ the radio
With no particular place to go…

Lastly, I offer you the lyrics to ‘Maybellene’ and the frustrations of a Flathead Ford chasing down a Caddy:
As I was motivatin’ over the hill
I saw Mabellene in a Coupe de Ville
A Cadillac a rollin’ on the open road
Nothin’ will outrun my V8 Ford
The Cadillac doin’ about ninety-five
She’s bumper to bumper, rollin’ side by side

The Cadillac pulled up ahead of the Ford
The Ford got hot and wouldn’t do no more
It then got cloudy and started to rain
I tooted my horn for a passin’ lane
The rainwater blowin’ all under my hood
I know that I was doin’ my motor good

The motor cooled down the heat went down
And that’s when I heard that highway sound
The Cadillac a sittin’ like a ton of lead
A hundred and ten half a mile ahead The Cadillac lookin’ like it’s sittin’ still
And I caught Mabellene at the top of the hill

Maybellene, why can’t you be true?
Oh Maybellene, why can’t you be true?
You’ve started back doing the things you used to do.

I could go on with songs like “No Money Down” (the follow up to Maybellene), “Jaguar and Thunderbird’, and ‘I Want To Be Your Driver’.