Beach Boy car songs are among the most opaque if you aren't familiar with 60's S. Cal. slang. This song is full of examples:
"She's ported and relieved and she's stroked and bored"--All engine modifications
"She'll do a hundred and forty with the top end floored"--S/B "..in the top end floored," i.e., in the highest gear with the pedal to the metal
"the four on the floor--S/B "..a four on the floor, meaning a 4-speed transmission with the shifter mounted on the floor rather than on the steering column, as Dad's car would have had it.
"she purrs like a kitten till the lake pipes roar" Lake pipes were a type of exterior, chrome exhaust pipes that visibly ran along the lower, outside of the car or at the edge of the running board. Compared to "scavengers" which hung underneath.
"When I get rubber in all four gears" Meaning the car is so powerful that he can spin the wheels, "lay rubber," even when shifting to the higher gears.
"There's one more thing, I got the pink slip daddy" In Cal. a vehicle's certificate of title was printed on pink paper. He's bragging that he owns this car outright. A similar expression of the era was to "race for pinks" meaning the winner took the loser's car.
@Cerdarcroft "Top end" is the end of a quarter mile drag race. So a hundred and forty is what was measured through the speed trap at the end of the race.
@Cerdarcroft "Top end" is the end of a quarter mile drag race. So a hundred and forty is what was measured through the speed trap at the end of the race.
@Cerdarcroft I also thought the reference to the pink slip was bragging that he had the original title, which would be pretty awesome for a 1932 model in the 60s.
@Cerdarcroft I also thought the reference to the pink slip was bragging that he had the original title, which would be pretty awesome for a 1932 model in the 60s.
Beach Boy car songs are among the most opaque if you aren't familiar with 60's S. Cal. slang. This song is full of examples: "She's ported and relieved and she's stroked and bored"--All engine modifications
"She'll do a hundred and forty with the top end floored"--S/B "..in the top end floored," i.e., in the highest gear with the pedal to the metal
"the four on the floor--S/B "..a four on the floor, meaning a 4-speed transmission with the shifter mounted on the floor rather than on the steering column, as Dad's car would have had it.
"she purrs like a kitten till the lake pipes roar" Lake pipes were a type of exterior, chrome exhaust pipes that visibly ran along the lower, outside of the car or at the edge of the running board. Compared to "scavengers" which hung underneath.
"When I get rubber in all four gears" Meaning the car is so powerful that he can spin the wheels, "lay rubber," even when shifting to the higher gears.
"There's one more thing, I got the pink slip daddy" In Cal. a vehicle's certificate of title was printed on pink paper. He's bragging that he owns this car outright. A similar expression of the era was to "race for pinks" meaning the winner took the loser's car.
@Cerdarcroft "Top end" is the end of a quarter mile drag race. So a hundred and forty is what was measured through the speed trap at the end of the race.
@Cerdarcroft "Top end" is the end of a quarter mile drag race. So a hundred and forty is what was measured through the speed trap at the end of the race.
@Cerdarcroft I also thought the reference to the pink slip was bragging that he had the original title, which would be pretty awesome for a 1932 model in the 60s.
@Cerdarcroft I also thought the reference to the pink slip was bragging that he had the original title, which would be pretty awesome for a 1932 model in the 60s.