Radar Love
Golden Earring
~~*~~
I've been drivin' all night, my hand's wet on the wheel
There's a voice in my head that drives my heel
It's my baby callin', says I need you here
And it's a half past four and I'm shiftin' gear
When she is lonely and the longing gets too much
She sends a cable comin' in from above
Don't need no phone at all
We've got a thing that's called radar love
We've got a wave in the air
Radar love
The radio is playing some forgotten song
Brenda Lee's comin' on strong
The road has got me hypnotized
And I'm speedin' into a new sunrise
When I get lonely and I'm sure I've had enough
She sends her comfort comin' in from above
We don't need no letter at all
We've got a thing that's called radar love
We've got a light in the sky
Radar love
No more speed, I'm almost there
Gotta keep cool now, gotta take care
Last car to pass, here I go
And the line of cars drove down real slow
And the radio played that forgotten song
Brenda Lee's comin' on strong
And the newsman sang his same song
Oh one more radar lover gone!
When I get lonely and I'm sure I've had enough
She sends her comfort comin' in from above
We don't need no letter at all
We've got a thing that's called radar love
We've got a light in the sky
We've got a thing that's called radar love
We've got a thing that's called ... radar love
~~*~~
The greatest nighttime driving song ever written,
and one of the greatest driving songs, period.
I can't believe it's been 50 years since its release.
As I trained as a young boy,
swimming those endless miles,
this was one of the songs that kept me moving,
kept me company.
I didn't have a walkman on, no.
(How you'd do that as a swimmer I don't know.
The tech exists, I'm sure,
but I've been out of the water long enough
not to know.)
I had my memory, that was it.
That was enough.
I love songs that tell stories like this one.
Though the language is sparse here,
the story is rich and full of imagery,
a slice of life that both walks into the heroic
while maintaining an anchor to the mundane.
How many times have you sped down a dark country highway
feeling the ghosts of civilization fly by you
in the form of lights, like constellations
to your freest dreams,
the stereo thumping out your pulse into the engine,
down to the tires?
Radar love, baby.
~~*~~
Digital Art: Speedin' Into a New Sunrise by yours truly
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