Deep Purple - Highway Star - Meaning of the song
This adrenaline-fueled rocker is about a man and his love for his high-powered car, which he says can out-race anything else on the road. It spawned a sub-genre known as "speed metal," a division of heavy metal later popularized by bands such as Motörhead and Metallica.
According to Deep Purple bass player Roger Glover, the band wrote "Highway Star" on their tour bus on the way to a gig at the Portsmouth Guildhall (in the UK) where they debuted the song. They wrote it because they were getting sick of their opening number, "Speed King"; "Highway Star" became their opener from that point on. The song evolved through live performances, and was recorded for the Machine Head album in December 1971.
Ritchie Blackmore's guitar solo on this track was ranked #15 on Guitar World magazine's 2008 list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos. In the issue, Blackmore explained how he did it:
"I wrote that out note for note about a week before we recorded it. I wanted it to sound like someone driving in a fast car, for it to be one of those songs you would listen to while speeding. And I wanted a very definite Bach sound, which is why I wrote it out – and why I played those very rigid arpeggios across that very familiar Bach progression – Dm, Gm, Cmaj, Amaj."
Highway star - Lyrics
Nobody gonna take my car I'm gonna race it to the ground Nobody gonna beat my car It's gonna break the speed of sound Oooh it's a killing machine It's got everything Like a driving power big fat tyres And everything I love it and I need it I bleed it Yeah it's a wild hurricane Alright hold tight I'm a highway star Nobody gonna take my girl I'm gonna keep her to the end Nobody gonna have my girl She stays close on every bend Oooh she's a killing machine She's got everything Like a moving mouth body control And everything I love her I need her I seed her Yeah she turns me on Alright hold tight I'm a highway star Nobody gonna take my head I got speed inside my brain Nobody gonna steal my head Now that I'm on the road again Oooh I'm in heaven again I've got everything Like a moving ground throttle control And everything I love it and I need it I seed it Eight cylinders all mine Alright hold tight I'm a highway star Nobody gonna take my car I'm gonna race it to the ground Nobody gonna beat my car It's gonna break the speed of sound Oooh it's a killing machine It's got everything Like a driving power big Fat tyres and everything I love it and I need it I bleed it Yeah it's a wild hurricane Alright hold tight I'm a highway star I'm a highway star I'm a highway star
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