Published Northern Songs Genre Rock Label Parlophone, EMI | Released 3 December 1965 Length 2:28 | |
Recorded 13 October 1965,
EMI Studios, London | ||
"Drive My Car" is a song by the Beatles, written primarily by Paul McCartney, with lyrical contributions from John Lennon. It was first released on the British version of the band's 1965 album Rubber Soul; it also appeared in North America on the Yesterday and Today collection. The upbeat, lighthearted "Drive My Car" was used as the opening track for both albums. Over the years the song has been covered by many artists such as former Spice Girls member Melanie C and Lulu, and the US band Breakfast Club. which was featured in the 1988 film License to Drive, that was played over the opening credits.
Contents
Lyrics
The song's male narrator is told by a woman that she is going to be a famous movie star, and she offers him the opportunity to be her chauffeur, adding: "and maybe I'll love you". When he objects that his "prospects [are] good", she retorts, "Working for peanuts is all very fine/But I can show you a better time." When he agrees to her proposal, she admits, "I got no car and it's breakin' my heart/But I've found a driver and that's a start." According to McCartney, "'Drive my car' was an old blues euphemism for sex". This expression was more common in the pre-automatic shift era of automobiles.
Composition
When McCartney arrived at Lennon's Weybridge home for a writing session, he had the tune in his head, but "The lyrics were disastrous, and I knew it." The chorus began, "You can buy me diamond rings", a cliché they had used twice before, in "Can't Buy Me Love" and "I Feel Fine" (as well as in the discarded "If You've Got Trouble"). Lennon dismissed the lyrics as "crap" and "too soft". They decided to rewrite the lyrics and after some difficulty – McCartney said it was "one of the stickiest" writing sessions – they settled on the "drive my car" theme (which Bob Spitz credits to Lennon) and the rest of the lyrics flowed easily from that.
It has been suggested that the song also refers to the relationship between Cilla Black and her then boyfriend Bobby Willis (whom she later married). Cilla was both a friend of the Beatles and a protegée of Brian Epstein. As the TV mini-series "Cilla" reveals, Bobby was also offered a recording contract by Epstein, but Cilla objected, saying she was the "star" and Bobby was to be the road manager who would "Drive My Car".
Recording
"Drive My Car" was recorded on 13 October 1965 during the Beatles' first recording session to extend past midnight. McCartney worked closely with George Harrison on the basic rhythm track, the pair playing, in author Ian MacDonald's description, "similar riffing lines on bass and low guitar", respectively, as per Harrison's suggestion. Harrison had been listening to Otis Redding's "Respect" at the time and, as a result of this influence, "Drive My Car" contains more bottom end than previous Beatles recordings, mimicking the bass-heavy sound in Redding's Memphis studio.
McCartney sang the main vocal part, giving it an energetic push that journalist Richie Unterberger calls "a commanding … hard rock vocal". The vocal rides above a simple two-chord funk riff in the verse, and a much more complex chorus containing piano-driven jazz-style key modulations. McCartney overdubbed both the piano part and the lead guitar solo.
Personnel
According to Ian MacDonald: