Photo: Cary Horton
After more than 25 years of churning out smart, fist-pumping rock ‘n’ roll songs tinged with country twang and Midwestern wit, the Bottle Rockets recently called it quits. Now that I’ve spent a few days mourning the loss of this great yet criminally little-known band from St. Louis, I’m taking the opportunity to celebrate one underrated aspect of their legacy. You see, the Bottle Rockets wrote incredible songs about cars.
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These seven tunes aren’t about lifted pickup trucks and girls in jeans, they aren’t about fast sports cars or flashy luxury rides, and they certainly aren’t about warm-and-fuzzy nostalgia for simpler times. Primarily written by lead singer Brian Henneman, they take on the perspective of the little guy, the blue-collar worker, and the down-on-their-luck denizens of Middle America. These songs are funny, sad, and insightful about life behind the wheel — and they rock like all get-out.
“1000 Dollar Car”
Merging the patient, shuffling rhythm of classic country with crackling, cranked-up electric guitars, the Bottle Rockets’ signature song issues a rueful warning about the dangers of buying suspiciously cheap pre-owned vehicles. “A thousand dollar car ain’t gonna roll/’til you throw at least another thousand in the hole/sink your money in it, and there you are/the owner of a two thousand dollar thousand dollar car.”
“Radar Gun”
The closest thing the Bottle Rockets ever had to a hit, this relentlessly paced song features an itchy little guitar riff that will get lodged in your brain. It’s sung from the perspective of a power-tripping cop (“got me a gun and a badge, I’m a man”) who gets off on snaring speeders to help fill his small town’s coffers.
“Indianapolis”
If you’ve ever been stuck hundreds of miles from home in a strange city with a broken-down vehicle, you know how much of a pain it can be. This country-rockin’ tune boils down all that boredom, frustration, and loneliness into a memorable three-and-a-half minutes. “Can’t go west, can’t go east/I’m stuck in Indianapolis with a fuel pump that’s deceased.”
“Love Like a Truck”
“Love Like a Truck” is by far the silliest song on this list, but it’s a lot of fun too, especially if you have a gearhead sweetie to play it for. “I got love like a truck, a big ol’ truck/with its air horn blowin’/I got love like a truck, a big ol’ truck/it’s our love that I’m towin’.”
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“Nothin’ but a Driver”
This rollicking, hopped-up song is about luxury cars, but rest assured it’s not about the people who actually own them. “I’m nothin’ but a driver/that’s all I want to be/pickup and deliver/well that’s good enough for me/in your Cadillacs and Lincolns/all day long I ride/happy with a wage/that might lead you to suicide.”
“Get on the Bus”
When your family can only afford one vehicle, someone’s going to have to take the bus to work. This song captures the experience vividly while adding fiddles and mandolins to the band’s usual guitar-bass-drums setup. “You got the car so I can’t drive/take my dollar seventy five/wait on the corner/for my chariot to arrive.”
“Highway 70 Blues”
If you’re stuck in traffic on the interstate after a long day at work, might as well follow the lead of this song and have a sense of humor about it. “I got the Highway 70 blues/I got the brake pedal gas pedal under my shoes/herkin’ and jerkin’/this feels like workin’/will I ever get to use my cruise?”
If you’ve enjoyed these songs — and if you like the lyrics of John Prine and Jason Isbell, the raw and ragged sound of Crazy Horse and early Wilco, and the three-guitar Southern rock heroics of Drive-By Truckers — you’re in for a treat. The Bottle Rockets wrote far more than just songs about cars, and there’s a whole discography of their albums for you to explore next. All of them are good, and some (like The Brooklyn Side and 24 Hours a Day) are truly great.
A longtime editor/writer and recently transplanted Hoosier, Caleb Cook lives in Xenia, Ohio. His favorite activities are reading and listening to music, although he occasionally emerges from the heap of books and vinyl records in his basement to stand blinking in the sunlight. Once fully acclimated to the outside world again, he can be observed hanging out with his wife, attempting a new recipe in the kitchen, attending movies, walking the dog, or wandering into a local brewery to inquire about what’s on tap. See more articles by Caleb.