Drive My Car
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Drive My Car" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Song by The Beatles | ||
| Songwriter(s): John Lennon / Paul McCartney | ||
| From the album Rubber Soul | ||
| Album released | December 3, 1965 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Song Length | 2:30 | |
| Record label | Parlophone, Capitol, EMI | |
| Producer | George Martin | |
| Rubber Soul Album Listing | ||
| Drive My Car (Track 1) | Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Track 2) | |
"Drive My Car" is a song written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and first released performed by The Beatles on the UK version of the 1965 album Rubber Soul; it also appeared in the US on the Yesterday ... and Today collection. The opening track for both albums, it is the second written of the album's "comedy numbers," (the first being "Norwegian Wood") as McCartney referred to it in Melody Maker two days after its recording. The song's male narrator tries to chat up some girl by asking her what she wants to be, presumably suggesting sexual favors in return for promises of career advancement. However, much to his chagrin, after she explains that she's going to be a famous movie star, the girl offers him the opportunity to be her chauffeur, adding "and maybe I'll love you." Indeed, by the second verse, the roles are reversed entirely when he finds himself pleading his case to her.
The song began when McCartney arrived at the Abbey Road Studios on October 13, 1965, to record the song with a chorus that began, "I can give you golden rings, I can give you anything." However, John vetoed this, calling it "crap," as similar hackneyed phrases had been used twice by The Beatles in "Can't Buy Me Love" and "I Feel Fine". Together, they rewrote the lyric and came up with the erotic double entendre, "Baby you can drive my car."
"Drive My Car" was recorded in The Beatles' first evening session to extend past midnight. McCartney, working closely with George Harrison, laid down the basic rhythm track, doubling similar riffing lines on bass and low guitar, as per Harrison's suggestion. George had been listening to Otis Redding's "Respect" at the time and, as a result of its influence, "Drive My Car" has more bottom than any previous Beatles recording, mimicking the bass-heavy sound generated in Redding's Memphis studio. (Often regarded as its sister track, "Day Tripper" was cut by Redding himself, up-tempo, for the Stax Records in 1967.)
This song was one of four that McCartney performed live on the Super Bowl XXXIX half-time show, and one of the five performed at the Live 8 Concert in London, in a duet with George Michael.
[edit] Trivia
McCartney played the lead slide guitar solo much to Harrison's annoyance.
[edit] References
- Turner, Steve. A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song, Harper, New York: 1994, ISBN 0-06-095065-X
- MacDonald, Ian. Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties, Great Britain: 1994, ISBN 0-8050-2780-7
[edit] External links
| The Beatles |
|---|
| John Lennon | Paul McCartney | George Harrison | Ringo Starr Pete Best | Stuart Sutcliffe |
| Management |
| Brian Epstein | Allen Klein | Apple Records |
| Production |
| George Martin | Geoff Emerick | Norman Smith | Phil Spector | Abbey Road Studios | Jeff Lynne |
| Official studio albums |
| Please Please Me (1963) | With the Beatles (1963) | A Hard Day's Night (1964) | Beatles for Sale (1964) | Help! (1965) | Rubber Soul (1965) | Revolver (1966) | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) | Magical Mystery Tour (1967) | The Beatles (The White Album) (1968) | Yellow Submarine (1969) | Abbey Road (1969) | Let It Be (1970) |
| Filmography |
| A Hard Day's Night (1964) | Help! (1965) | Magical Mystery Tour (1967) | Yellow Submarine (1968) | Let It Be (1970) |
| Related articles |
| Line-ups | Bootlegs | Lennon/McCartney | Anthology | Influence | The Quarrymen | London | Beatlemania | Fifth Beatle | Paul is dead | British Invasion | Apple Corps | Northern Songs | Yoko Ono |
