Song ‘Birds: The music of the Ford Thunderbird
The hot wind rushes past, over and around the windshield. Ahead of you, your 312-ci V-8 roars, wide open. The only thing missing is the perfect song. Even if you’re currently chained to your desk and the open road’s excitement is a cruel daydream, the following Thunderbird hits might help you get there.
“Fun, Fun, Fun” by the Beach Boys: A rebellious daughter who borrows her dad’s Ford Thunderbird to “study at the library” ventures out to challenge other drivers. Eventually, her dad discovers her secret and takes the T-bird back, but she retaliates by running off with a boy who fell in love with her while watching her drive.
Best Lyrics:
“And she’ll have fun, fun, fun
Till her daddy takes the t-bird away.
(Fun, fun, fun till her daddy takes the t-bird away)”
“Silver Thunderbird” by Marc Cohn: Grammy Award-winning American folk-rock singer-songwriter Marc Cohn wrote 15 different versions of “Silver Thunderbird”. Just like a long drive on a deserted road, he said that writing the song was a kind of therapy for him. The song also has personal ties: When Cohn was two or three years old, his dad came home with a Silver Thunderbird, and boy did that car make him look cool.
Best Lyrics:
“Don’t gimme no Buick,
Son you must take my word.
If there’s a God up in Heaven,
He’s got a Silver Thunderbird.
You can keep your Eldorados,
And the foreign car’s absurd.
Me, I wanna go down,
In a Silver Thunderbird.”
“Makin’ Thunderbirds” by Bob Seger: Robert Clark “Bob” Seger is an American rock musician best known for his success during the 1970s and ‘80s. This soulful track takes place on the flip-side of most car songs and celebrates the memories of working on Ford’s 1955 assembly lines.
Best Lyrics:
“We were makin’ Thunderbirds
We were makin’ Thunderbirds
They were long and low and sleek and fast
They were classic in a word.”
“Thunderbird” by John Hiatt: John Hiatt, who the Los Angeles Times calls “one of rock’s most astute singer-songwriters of the last 40 years,” is known for his masterful, storytelling lyrics. He is also a rock guitarist, pianist and harmonicist. This chill tune is an excellent example of his work. In this folk-rock song, he describes his love for his Thunderbird.
Best Lyrics:
“Got electric windows,
Tilt away wheel,
Slide across the bucket seat,
For that sexy leather feel of…
My Thunderbird, my Thunderbird,
Put your head on my shoulder,
Don’t say a word,
We’ll cut across town in my Thunderbird.”
“T-Bird Angel” by Uriah Heep: This English rock band formed in 1969, just in time to join the hair band era. The group loathed covering others’ work and focused on originality. This is one song that is a favorite among fans.
Best Lyrics:
“We’re burnin’ out the highway
Me with my foot to the floor
No wonder everybody goes crazy
Gotta drive this T-Bird more
I gotta have this T-Bird Angel, so we can fly away
I gotta have this T-Bird Angel, and drive all night and day”
“Thunderbird” by Hans Zimmer: Found on the 1991 Thelma & Louise Soundtrack, this composition is a piece of art that doesn’t need lyrics. Play it full volume during a road trip and you will come back relaxed, refreshed and inspired.
“Black and White Thunderbird” by The Delicates: The Delicates was a singing group formed in 1958 by three girls in grammar school. The song “Black and White Thunderbird” can now be heard in the hit movie “Cars,” and in multiple CD soundtracks, including “Lightening McQueen’s Fast Tracks.” This is one cute little number sure to lift your mood.
Best Lyrics:
“Beep beep beep beep Thunderbird,
Beep beep beep beep beep a dee da beep,
Beep beep yeah beep beep,
Save some money find yourself a car,
Save a little more,
Then I bought me a car,
It was a black and white Thunderbird so new,
Black and white Thunderbird so cool.”
“Jaguar and Thunderbird” by Chuck Berry: Charles Edward Anderson “Chuck” Berry is an undisputed rock and roll pioneer. A flawless combination of rhythm, blues and rock tells a lighthearted tale of a race between a Thunderbird and Jaguar, and the local Sheriff trying to catch them before they reach the county line. Who came out on top? We may never know.
Best Lyrics:
“Just a half-a-mile from Ludenville,
Had a speed sign sitting at the top of the hill,
It said, ‘35 miles, and stay in line,’
But the Jaguar and Thunderbird never read the sign.”
“First Love” by Alan Jackson: It’s the opposite of your typical car/woman innuendo. This time, the woman that country singer-songwriter Alan Jackson refers to is, in fact, a car. The snowshoe white 1955 Thunderbird broke his heart when he had to let her go in 1979, but his love came back to him as a gift on Christmas Eve, 1993.
Best Lyrics:
“My first love was an older woman,
There’s been many since,
But there’ll never be another.
Built in 1955, snowshoe white, overdrive,
I never should’ve sold her, I’ll always love her,
She was mine.”
