2 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Drive, She Said Lyrics
Sittin' right behind me I could smell her perfume
It was something I smelled before
Went through a red light while I spilled my drink
I could feel something sticky on the floor
I said, "Miss you gotta tell me where yo wanna go to,
I can't keep driving 'round the same block."
Then I crumpled my cup and pulled the gum off my shoe
And then she told me,
"Just shut up and keep your eyes on the ruad...
CHORUS
And just drive," she said
"Just drive," she said
Well, I watched her grip her hands on the bag in her lap
While I scratched the bald spot on my head
I knew then that my cab was just a getaway car
But I shut up and drove like she said
I took a bite off my donut then I offered her one
I said, "Lady, are you in a fix?"
Then she reached in her purse and she pulled out a gun and said,
"Now, just shut up and keep your hands on the wheel...
CHORUS
And then the moon disappeared and it started to rain
So I turned the windshield wipers on full
And on the bag in her lap I saw the name of a big bank downtown
And I said, "YOu don't have to worry about me..."
And when I turned the headlights on,
Just for a minute I thought I saw the both of us
On some kinda tropical island someplace
Walkin' down a white sandy beach eatin' something...
CHORUS
We pulled out of traffic down a dark side street
She was fixin' her hair in the mirror
I made a left turn at a yellow light
Drove my cab fast towards the pier
She boarded the boat and turned and blew me a kiss
and leter on when the squad cars came 'round
I ate a handful 'a peanuts and then I told 'em this
"I don't remember much...
Just keep your haands on the wheel, and just drive, she said."
It was something I smelled before
Went through a red light while I spilled my drink
I could feel something sticky on the floor
I said, "Miss you gotta tell me where yo wanna go to,
I can't keep driving 'round the same block."
Then I crumpled my cup and pulled the gum off my shoe
And then she told me,
"Just shut up and keep your eyes on the ruad...
And just drive," she said
"Just drive," she said
While I scratched the bald spot on my head
I knew then that my cab was just a getaway car
But I shut up and drove like she said
I took a bite off my donut then I offered her one
I said, "Lady, are you in a fix?"
Then she reached in her purse and she pulled out a gun and said,
"Now, just shut up and keep your hands on the wheel...
So I turned the windshield wipers on full
And on the bag in her lap I saw the name of a big bank downtown
And I said, "YOu don't have to worry about me..."
And when I turned the headlights on,
Just for a minute I thought I saw the both of us
On some kinda tropical island someplace
Walkin' down a white sandy beach eatin' something...
She was fixin' her hair in the mirror
I made a left turn at a yellow light
Drove my cab fast towards the pier
She boarded the boat and turned and blew me a kiss
and leter on when the squad cars came 'round
I ate a handful 'a peanuts and then I told 'em this
"I don't remember much...
Just keep your haands on the wheel, and just drive, she said."
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
One of his bigger hits. I love that the cabbie-narrator falls in love with her (or maybe the money) and starts fantasizing as soon as he realizes she robbed a bank. Also, that he told the cops basically nothing about her escape route, which he did know.
Probably the most famous song entitled "Drive She Said", Ridgway's song bears obvious similarities to John Cooper Clarke's poem/song of the same name (from four years prior), although Ridgway doesn't seem to have known about the earlier work (?) In this MuchMusic interview clip from 1986 - https://youtu.be/i4vmMdxC9QM?t=33 - he is asked (by a very young JD Roberts, now John Roberts of Fox News) about his songwriting approach, and (at 1:23) what inspired this song and he dismisses it as being the product of consuming "bad detective books" and "trash TV". No mention of the English poet Cooper at all. But they're sort of similar.. Probably coincidence - Ridgway seems to be really invested in his craft (more than most pop songwriters, then, since, or now). Julian Cope's song (of the same name, from 1991) is not similar at all to either prior works.