Bike Songs
a quick cull from the web. sorry no acknowledgements
Acoustic Motorbike - Luka Bloom (#10)
Boy Needs A Bike - Jewel
Bicycle (title track) - Livingston Taylor
Bicycle Race - Queen (#1 below), and Blümchen (cover/remix)
The Bicycle Trip - Bruce Cockburn (#5)
Bicycle Spaniard - Cracker
Bicycle Thief (not about bicycles)- New Order
Bike - Mal Webb (#12)
Bike - Pink Floyd (#7)
Bike (instrumental) - Autechre
Bike Pump Meets Bucket (instrumental) - Aphex Twin
Bike Song - Red Monkey
Bikes in White Satin - Tom (#2)
Blue Bike - Larry Yes
Busted Bicycle (instrumental) - Leo Kottke
Car Free Zones - ? (#8)
Cycling Is Fun - Shonen Knife
Dirt Bike - They Might Be Giants
Les Bicyclettes de Belsize - Connie Francis (#6)
My Bike - Ghoti Hook
My White Bike - Nazareth
Nice Bike (instrumental) - Ry Cooder
Pedaler's Lament - Jack Dingler (#3)
Red Rider - the Residents
Robin Hood - New Bad Things
Rockin' Bicycle - Fats Domino (#4)
South Carolina - John Linnell (of TMBG)
Vancouver Bike Summer Songs (#9)
a) Queens of the Road
b) Proud Bikeway
c) Pedal Power Round
d) Daisy Bell
e) Wholesome Undy
f) Beautiful City
g) Pedal Power Goddess
h) Oleum Petroleum
Christmas 2003 Songs (#11)
a) Bicycle Rock
b) Bikes For The World
c) Climate Change is Coming to Town
d) Deck The Road
e) O Come All Ye Cyclists
f) Ring Your Bells
g) Rudolph the Red-nosed Cyclist
h) The 12 Days of Christmas
also see http://bicycleuniverse.com/general/music.html
1. Bicycle Race - Queen
Bicycle! Bicycle!
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike.
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like
2. Anyway, I started thinking about the Moody Blues "Nights in White Satin." And looking around at my fellow riders, I came up with this one:
Guys in tight lycra
With money to spend,
Looking for bike chix
Whom they might befriend.
Titanium tubing
On a custom built frame
Ride it each weekend
Unless it should rain.
We're all poseurs ... ohhh ... we're all poseurs ....!
Not that I'm anyone to talk. I'm one of the worst.
.................................Tom
3. Pedaler's Lament
Words by Jack Dingler
Sung to the tune of 'Streets of Laredo'
As I was out riding, as I do every Sunday
The sun it was shining and the road it was clear
I spied a young cylist lying sprawled on the roadside
Covered in road rash and cold as the clay.
"Oh, tap your cleats slowly and say 'on your left' lowly,
Talk of the tours as you carry me along,
Take me to the green valley and lay my bike o'er me
For I am a young cyclist and I've done nothing wrong."
"I see by your lycra that you are a roadie"
These words he did say as I boldly rode by,
"Come sit down beside me and hear my sad story,
I was hit by motorist and know I must die."
"Let sixteen tandems come tow my poor my coffin,
Let sixteen racers come to draft me along,
Take me to the graveyard and lay my bike o'er me
For I am a young cyclist and I've done nothing wrong."
"My friends and relations, they live for their autos,
They know not why, their poor cylist goes on,
Well I first started riding just to improve my condition,
For I am a young cyclist and I've done nothing wrong."
"Go write a letter to my gray-haired old mother,
And carry the same to my sister so dear,
But not a word of this shall you now mention
When a crowd gathers round you my story to hear."
"Oh, tap your cleats slowly and say 'on your left' lowly,
Talk of the tours as you carry me along,
We all love our bicycles so shiny and handsome,
We all love our bicycles although they give us such pain."
"There is another more dear than a sister
She'll bitterly weep when she hears I am gone,
Still it's me that she'll blame, for all of the riding,
Riding on roadsides, where autos belong."
"Go gather around you a crowd of young riders,
And tell them the story of this, my sad fate;
Tell one and the other before they go further
To educate motorists before it's too late."
"Oh wear your best jerseys, then ride your bikes merrily
Talk of the tours as you carry me along,
And bunny hop mountain bikes, right o'er my coffin,
There goes an unfortunate rider away to his home."
"It was once in the saddle I used to go sprinting
Once in the saddle I rode all the day,
First down to the crits and then to the road race
Got hit by a motorist, I am dying today."
"Get six jolly racers to carry my coffin,
Get six biker chicks to carry my pall,
Put bunches of roses all over my coffin,
Put roses to deaden the clods as they fall."
"Then ride your bikes slowly, and rattle your chains lowly,
And give a wild shout as you carry me along,
And in the grave throw me and lay my bike o'er me
For I am a young cyclist and I've done nothing wrong."
"Go bring me a bottle, a bottle of sports drink
To cool my parched lips," the cyclist he said;
Before I could turn, the spirit had left him
And gone to its Giver --- the cyclist was dead.
We tapped our cleats slowly and said, 'on your left' lowly,
And bitterly wept as we bore him along,
For we all loved our partner, so brave, young and handsome,
We all loved our fallen partner who'd never done wrong.
* Jack Dingler *
* jdingler@onramp.net *
4. Rockin' Bicycle - Fats Domino:
Ain't got a Cadillac or a big automobile
I'm just a little guy not a big time wheel
But I can prove my love is true
On my rockin' bicycle that's built for two
5. The Bicycle Trip - Bruce Cockburn (1970):
Drift along
Hear the gravel crackle
Butterflies
Shades of the eternal dancer
God has buttered the land with sunlight
Sunlight
Corn grows high
Like a tall watusi
Katydid
Hums a monotonous tune
Rather hypnotically
Hmmmmmm
Overhead there's a parrot with boxing gloves
Singing like me
What a clever bird
Even knows the words
But he doesn't seem to see
Me
Making my great escape
You can just take so much of your own advice
Who needs a king
Sitting in a tree
So loquaciously
Pigeonholing everything
Pigeons have a way of taking wing
Back again
Purple thistles bristle
All around
Bane of the Eternal Dancer
Hmmmmmm
Home is just around the bend...
The end
6. Les Bicyclettes De Belsize - Connie Francis (Lyrics by: Les Reed/Barry Mason)
Turning and turning
The world goes on.
We can't change it, my friend.
Let us go riding all through the days,
Together to the end, to the end.
7. Bike - Pink Floyd (Lyrics by Barrett, 1967 )
I've got a bike
you can ride if you like.
It's got a basket,
a bell that rings
and things to make it look good.
I'd give it to you if I could
but I borrowed it.
8. Car Free Zones [tune: Monty Python Theme]
The cars go in and the cars go out,
But rarely do you see
A lane, a space, a path, a place
For you, my bike, and me.
And as for bridges, well it's clear
There's no safe place to be!
Oh car free zones, car free zones
Are what we want to see!
There's glass and metal, rocks and stones
On every Portland street,
And when you ride here on the side
They're right beneath your feet.
They're thrown here by each passing car
And so we must repeat
Oh, car free zones, car free zones
Would sure be really neat!
I'm being followed by a gas-guzzler
Who thinks I am too slow,
He gives a beep from his big jeep
And to the ground I go,
And as I lay there he drives past
And screams, "Get off the road!"
Oh car free zones, car free zones
We need to change the Code!
The Transportation Planning Rule
Declares, "Spend two per cent
Of every dime and planners' time
On bike development."
But when it comes to budgeting
There's not a single cent
For car free zones, car free zones
The money's all been spent!
9. Songs from Vancouver B.C. Bike Summer (2001)
Here is text of Vancouver Bike Songs that are part of bike culture in
Vancouver. These songs have been part of Critical Mass and Bike Summer,
especially the Lantern Ride, a very Northwest Coast arty Critical Mass.
Pedalsinging was started here by our Saint who got smashed by a truck and
is now joined to the Pedal Power Goddess in the sky. She called us Singing
Cyclists. Choral singing or chanting can really unify a bike ride and
communicate a message to the public without a PA system. It is challenging
to develop this unanimity among cyclists, but a
The lyrics here are full of the passions and words of the Singing
Cyclists focused by Gavin and heavily crafted by me.
I hope you can sing them with us. We gather fairly regularly, so let us
know if you want to join a pedalchoral evening.
If you live in another place please do try singing some of them to the
well-known tunes we sing them to.
a) QUEENS OF THE ROAD [tune: King of the Road]
=====================
Sometimes we travel slow,
And take time
to stop and say "hello"
Sometimes we travel fast;
We never whine
about the price of gas.
It's simple, you can see
Bikes are good for you and me
We'll be folks of means
by all means
Queens of the road.
Got healthy heart and legs,
Never go to Jenny Craig.
Don't pay no parking fees.
Don't need no I.C.B.C.
We sold the Chevrolet
'Cause we found a better way.
Now we're girls of means
by no means
Queens of the road.
Bikes don't use up the earth a lot
Or turn it all into a parking lot.
Bikes don't add to air pollution.
Bikes are the urban green solution.
Sometimes we travel slow...
....
Queens of the road.
Queens of the road.
b) PROUD BIKEWAY [tune: Proud Mary]
=====================
Got a good job in the city,
Workin' for the man
every night and day,
Getting stuck in traffic,
Drivin' down the highway,
Looked around a corner,
saw a better way:
Bike wheels keep on turnin',
Bike culture keep on growin',
Rollin', Rollin',
Rollin' through the city.
Left the car parked
the next morning,
Telling Shell Oil to take a hike.
Then I got to see
the good side of the city
When I cycled downtown
on my recycled bike.
Bike wheels...
Cycled on down the Seaside,
'long the False Creek Trail,
up the Adanac Way,
No more smoke and traffic,
friendly nods and smiles,
People on the bikeway
are easy to hail.
Bike wheels...
c) PEDAL POWER ROUND
=====================
Pedal power rolls down the right-of-way,
Rockin' way to get around every day.
Living way to go.
Breathing, don't you know that
bikes are here to stay.
d) DAISY BELL
=====================
1900 HE:
Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do!
I'm half crazy all for the love of you!
It won't be a stylish marriage.
I can't afford a carriage,
But you'll look sweet upon the seat
Of a bicycle built for two.
1950 SHE:
Arthur, Arthur, here's your answer true:
I'm no martyr and I will not marry you.
If you can't afford a Mercedes,
Well you can go to Hades.
And I'll be damned if I'll be crammed
On a bicycle built for two.
2000 He: Daisy...
2000 SHE:
Michael, Michael, Here's your answer true:
I like to cycle. I'm happy that you do too.
So cool, you're not a gas junkie
and your quads are ripped and hunky.
But I must be in charge
of the front handlebars...
HE:
Then I'll check out your glutes
and let you choose the routes...
ALL:
On our bicycle built for two.
e) WHOLESOME UNDY [tune: Cwm Rhonda]
=====================
Hey, Vancouver, in one week
A road rage orgy in False Creek.
The Molson Indy in our town
Roaring squealing round and round.
Indy No, Undy Yes.
The Wholesome Undy is the best.
The Wholesome Undy is so cool;
Organic produce is the fuel.
The Wholesome Undy smells like folks
And no un-wholesome race car smoke.
Indy No, Undy Yes.
The Wholesome Undy is the best.
The Wholesome Undy sounds so sweet,
A pedal chorus in your street.
The Wholesome Undy sings along
A little traffic calming song.
Indy No, Undy Yes.
The Wholesome Undy is the best.
The Wholesome Undy looks so bright.
The Undy folks can travel light.
The Wholesome Undy looks so smart
With pedal power, life and art.
Indy No, Undy Yes.
The Wholesome Undy is the best.
Gaunch is wholesome, ginch is cute
And so's a cyclist's birthday suit.
Teddy's sexy, thong is hot,
Boxers cover up a lot.
Indy No, Undy Yes.
The Wholesome Undy is the best.
f) BEAUTIFUL CITY
=====================
Bike lanes over the inlet,
Bike lanes over the river,
Bike lanes on all the bridges,
Bike paths on scenic ridges,
And bike lanes through the middle
of the city.
cho:
Let's make us a beautiful city,
Let's make us a beautiful city,
Let's make us a beautiful city
With bike lanes in the city
of Vancouver.
Who's up the road
with those flashing lights?
Some hot little cuties in spandex tights.
On bike lanes in the city of Vancouver.
Cho.
Who's that behind us in a traffic jam?
It's the old roadragers
from Coquitlam.
But a windway can speed them
to Vancouver.
Cho.
Who's that thinking globally?
It's the folks that are biking locally
On the bike lanes in the city of Vancouver.
Cho.
g) PEDAL POWER GODDESS
=====================
There's a pedal-power goddess
in the sky
And she turns the Milky Way
between her thighs.
She's the pedal-power goddess
And she doesn't wear a bodice,
She's the pedal-power goddess
in the sky.
There's a pedal power goddess
in the stars.
In the cosmos there's no lasting
place for cars,
So the goddess doesn't drive one
And her energy's a live one
And there are no fossils burning
in her arse.
There's a pedal power goddess
on the way
And we pedal by her power
every day.
Through the road rage
and pollution,
We will make a velorution,
By the goddess
we will find a better way.
h) OLEUM PETROLEUM
=====================
You can't get to heaven in a limousine
'Cause the Lord don't sell no gasoline,
no Oleum Petroleum.
You get bad karma from a Mercedes
'Cause others pay for your life of ease,
for your..Oleum Petroleum
There's bogus karma in an S.U.V.,
Ain't neither sport nor utility,
it's just Oleum Petroleum.
You can't get to heaven in a four-by-four
'Cause heaven 's got a real narrow door,
no Oleum Petroleum.
We ain't a-gonna burn no fossil fuels,
We ain't a-gonna be such fossil fools,
We ain't a-gonna be such fossil fools.
We don't burn diesel, we don't burn gas,
We burn the lard right off our ass,
Not oleum petroleum.
You can roll into heaven
on a rickety old bike.
The angels will shout,
"That's what I like,
Not oleum petroleum."
#10 Acoustic Motorcycle - Luka Bloom
The day began with a rainbow in the sand
As I cycled into Kerry
Cattle grazing on a steep hillside
Looked well fed well balanced
Close to the edge
Chorus:
Pedal on, pedal on, pedal on for miles
Pedal on
Pedal on, pedal on, pedal on for miles
Pedal on
I take a break, I close my eyes
And I'm as happy as the Dolphin
In a quiet spot talking to myself
Talking about the rain
Talking about the rain
All this rain
Chorus
You see whenever I'm alone
I tend to brood
But when I'm out on my bike
It's a different mood
I leave my brain at home
Get up on the saddle
No hanging around
I don't diddle-daddle
I work my legs
I pump my thighs
Take in the scenery passing me by
The Kerry Mountains or the Wicklow Hills
The antidote to my emotional ills
A motion built upon human toil
Nuclear free needs no oil
But it makes me hot, makes me hard
I never thought I could have come this far
Through miles of mountains, valleys, streams
This is the right stuff filling my dreams
So come on, get up on your bike
Ah go on, get up on your bike
Chorus
Finally
With my face to that bitter wind
I bombed it into Killarney
Skin raw like a sushi dinner
And an appetite
That would eat the hind leg of the lamb of God
Even though you know I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing
Then settle down for a quiet night
Think about what I've seen and done
And wonder
There's no reason for this
Now is the time to speak of the problem troubling my mind
Sick of the traffic choking our towns
Freaking me out, bringing me down
Knock down houses, build more lanes
Once was a problem, now it's insane
My solution it's one that I like
It's Muddy
The Acoustic Motorbike
So come on, get up on your bike
Chorus
Ah go on, Ah go on
Get up on your bike
Get up on your bike
# 11 Christmas 2002 Songs
(by amy stork et al)
a) Bicycle Rock
(to the tune of Jingle Bell Rock)
Bicycle, bicycle, bicycles rock
Bicycles roll and bicycles go
Spinning and grinning, itís baskets of fun
Now the biking age has begun
Bicycle, bicycle, bicycles rock
Cyclist whoop and Cyclists hoot
Pedal and revel in Courthouse Square
In the misty air
What a bright time, itís the right time
To bike the night away
Bicycle time is a cool time
To go riding on a two-wheeled sleigh
Giddy up, iron horse, donít be a poke
Bicycle round the clock
Mix and mingle with your jingling spokes
Thatís the bicycle
Thatís the bicycle
Thatís the bicycle rock!
b) Bikes for the world
(to the tune of Joy to the World)
Bikes for the world! The time has come
Let earth receive clean air
Let every heart, beat steadily
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and heaven and nature sing
Bikes rule the road, with speed and grace
And make our nation free
From oil rigs and corporate greed
So ride your bicycle
So ride your bicycle
So ride, so ride your bicycle!
c) Climate change is coming to town
(To the tune of Santa Claus in coming to town)
You better watch out, you better not drive
You better ride bikes Iím telling you why
Climate change is coming to town
Weíre making it hot, weíre raising the sea
Gonna feel life at a hundred degrees
Climate change is coming to town
If people keep on driving
The poles will soon be lakes
The air will stink like petrol fumes
Ride your bike for goodness sake
Weíre making a list, weíre checking it twice
Weíre gonna find out who drove and who biked!
Climate change is coming to town
d) Deck the road with tons of cyclists
(to the dune of Deck the Halls)
Deck the road with tons of cyclists
Fa la la la la la, la la la la
Tis the season for idealists
Fa la la la la la, la la la la
Don we now our rain apparel
Fa la la la la la, la la la la
Call your friend his name is Harold
Fa la la la la la, la la la la
Grab your helmet and your u-lock
Fa la la la la la, la la la la
Join the sheep whoíve left the flock
Fa la la la la la, la la la la
Hitch your trailer to your seat post
Fa la la la la la, la la la la
To the store to get some French Roast
Fa la la la la la, la la la la
Pedal til the old year passes
Fa la la la la la, la la la la
Cold air fogging up your glasses
Fa la la la la la, la la la la
Summer soon will come again
Fa la la la la la, la la la la
Just keep riding with the wind
Fa la la la la la, la la la la
e) O Come all ye cyclists,
(To the tune of o come all ye faithful)
O Come all ye cyclists,
joyful and triumphant
O come ye, o come ye by bicycle
Come and behold them
See what fun theyíre having
O come let us stop driving
O come let us start riding
O come let us start riding
Our bicycles
f) Ring your bells
(to the tune of Jingle Bells)
Dashing through the rain, on a pedaling machine
Over the streets we go, biking keeps us lean, oh ho ho
Horns on Hondas beep, testing our resolve
But oh what fun it is to ride, cutting down on smog!
Ring your bell, ring your bell, biking all the way!
Oh what fun, it is to ride a two-wheeled Chevrolet!
Hey!
Portland winter's wet, with puddles everywhere
Splashing cars behind, but why do I care?
Iíve got fenders on, keeping my ass dry
Oh what fun it is to ride, itís a natural high!
Ring your bell, ring your bell, biking all the way!
Oh what fun, it is to ride a two-wheeled Chevrolet!
People think weíre odd, riding on our bikes
But we know weíre cool, ëcause this is what we like
Breathing clean and free, letting go of hate
We are riding bicycles because it feels so great!
Ring your bell, ring your bell, biking all the way!
Oh what fun, it is to ride a two-wheeled Chevrolet!
g) Rudolph the red-nosed cyclist
Rudolph the red-nosed cyclist
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it (saw it)
You would even say it glowed.
All of the silly drivers
Used to laugh and call him names (like a Masshole)
They never let poor Rudolph (Rudolph)
Take the center of the lane
Then one smoggy Christmas eve
Santa came to say
Rudolph with your healthy thighs
Wonít you pull my sleigh tonight?
Then all the children loved him
And they shouted out with glee (with glee)
Rudolph the red-nosed cyclist
Wonít you come and ride with me!
h) Twelve days of Christmas
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
A tandem with a spare seat
On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Two handlebars and
Etc..
Three inner tubes
Four pedals shining
Five times the fun
Six pack (or six Pabsts) for drinking
Seven days of riding
Eight bells for ringing
Nine lights a blinking
Ten spokes a spinning
Eleven cables snaking
Twelve gears for shifting
12. Bike (Mal Webb)
Push on a pedal, push on a pedal
Get your (gasp) heart started
Push on a pedal
Push it down and up again
Get on your bike, sit on the seat
Push your feet on the pedals
And ride it all around
Ride it all around
Oh, get that car out of my way
I want to ride my bike today
It keeps me fit and gets me there
And won't go stinking up the air
Leave behind the daily grind
And let your mind unwind
If it's life you tend to like
You'd better get yourself a bike
Oh, oh, get yourself a bike
©Mal Webb 2000