Drive My Car: Introduction
“Drive My Car” is a Beatles’ song that is on their 1965 album, “Rubber Soul.”
In Detail
- Publisher: Northern Songs
- Release Date: December 3, 1965 (UK), June 20, 1966 (US)
- Recorded: October 13, 1965
- Studio: EMI Studios, London
- Genre: Rock, rhythm and blues
- Track Duration: 2:28
- Record Label: Parlophone, EMI
- Songwriters: Lennon-McCartney
- Producer: George Martin
- Engineer: Norman Smith
Performers And Instruments
- Paul McCartney: lead vocal, bass guitar, piano, slide guitar
- John Lennon: lead vocal
- George Harrison: harmony vocal, lead guitar
- Ringo Starr: drums, cowbell, tambourine
Where To Find “Drive My Car”
You can still buy this song on the following albums:
**If you want to buy the original version of this song, go for the 1965 album.
Drive My Car: Background
Written primarily by Paul McCartney, the credit for “Drive My Car” goes to the Lennon-McCartney partnership, of course. Indeed, John Lennon contributed to the lyrics too. The song is an upbeat rock/rhythm and blues composition about a wannabe female, and according to McCartney, the title was “an old blues euphemism for sex.”
McCartney was fumbling around with the lyrics, so the songwriters put their heads together to swap ideas. Initially, the chorus included the lyric “You can buy me golden rings.”
“This is one of the songs where John and I came nearest to having a dry session. The lyrics I brought in were something to do with golden rings, which is always fatal. ‘Rings’ is fatal anyway, ‘rings’ always rhymes with ‘things’ and I knew it was a bad idea. I came in and I said, ‘These aren’t good lyrics but it’s a good tune.’ The tune was nice, the tune was there, I’d done the melody.
Well, we tried, and John couldn’t think of anything, and we tried and eventually it was, ‘Oh let’s leave it, let’s get off this one.’ ‘No, no. We can do it, we can do it.’
So we had a break, maybe had a cigarette or a cup of tea, then we came back to it, and somehow it became ‘drive my car’ instead of ‘gold-en rings’, and then it was wonderful because this nice tongue-in-cheek idea came and suddenly there was a girl there, the heroine of the story, and the story developed and had a little sting in the tail like Norwegian Wood had, which was ‘I actually haven’t got a car, but when I get one you’ll be a terrific chauffeur.'”
Paul McCartney
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
Sexual Overtones
Obviously, the song became one of The Beatles’ most famous tracks on the “Rubber Soul” album. So, they come up trumps yet again. Although the lyrics seem innocent enough, there is a lot of ambiguity in them. Not only that, but the lyrics have many sexual overtones, and this is clear from the beginning: “I wanna be famous, a star of the screen, but you can do something in between.“
Of course, this was 1965, and the songwriters had to be careful with the lyrics. Nonetheless, The Beatles were still going to push the boundaries, just like they did later with references to drugs.
Recording Studio
The Beatles recorded “Drive My Car” on October 13, 1965, in Studio Two of the EMI Studios, London, during the 7.00 p.m.–12.15 a.m. session. This was also the first time that the band would record past midnight, something they would soon do often in the future.
They taped 4 takes, with the last one being suitable for the mono and stereo mixes. Overdubbing occurred on the same day, and the song became the first track on the “Rubber Soul” album before “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown).”
The 2006 album “Love” sees a mashup of “Drive My Car” together with “The Word” and “What You’re Doing.” However, there is the guitar solo from “Taxman” and the horn section from “Savoy Truffle,” too. Keen listeners will also hear remixed keyboards from “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and the backing vocals from “Helter Skelter.”
Take A Listen
Finally, listen to the song, then leave us your thoughts.
