Joyride

Album: Joyride (1991)
Charted: 4 1
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Per Gessle (the male member of the duo) wrote this song for his girlfriend. He came home late and she had left a note on his piano that read, "Hej din tok, jag alskar dig," which means, "Hello, you fool, I love you," in Swedish. Gessle used the line in the song. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Philip - Ahus, Sweden
  • Gessle decided to add whistling to the tune after watching Monty Python's Life of Brian, which features the whistle-heavy song "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life." He told Billboard magazine: "I did the whistling myself. It's overdubbed 12 times, but I did it."
  • Gessle and Marie Fredriksson, the other half of Roxette, knew they wanted this to be the lead single, but their record label, EMI, disagreed. Thinking the uptempo track would be too risky, the label recommended the ballad "Spending My Time" as the first single for the US. Luckily, the duo refused to relent and "Joyride" became the duo's fourth consecutive #1 hit. As for "Spending My Time," it was their first chart single to miss the Top 30.
  • The album title was inspired by a magazine interview with Paul McCartney, in which he described writing songs with John Lennon as "a long joyride." Gessle recalled: "At the time, we were in the middle of recording, and I was looking for a fun, positive title for the album. 'Joyride' seemed like a perfect word."
  • This also hit #1 in several other countries, including Canada, Australia, Germany, Japan, Norway, and their native Sweden.
  • This was used on Beverly Hills, 90210 in the 1991 episode "Pass, Not Pass."

Comments: 2

  • Dennis from Anchorage, AkThis song is one of my favorite musical guilty pleasures.
  • Peter C. "clemo" from Prague, Czech RepublicThe title comes (as I read in the booklet from Roxette greatest hits CD, Per Gessle himself said) from an interview with Paul McCartney, who said "writing songs with John (Lennon) was a complete Joyride" (or something like that)
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Matthew Wilder - "Break My Stride"

Matthew Wilder - "Break My Stride"They're Playing My Song

Wilder's hit "Break My Stride" had an unlikely inspiration: a famous record mogul who rejected it.

A Monster Ate My Red Two: Sesame Street's Greatest Song Spoofs

A Monster Ate My Red Two: Sesame Street's Greatest Song SpoofsSong Writing

When singers started spoofing their own songs on Sesame Street, the results were both educational and hilarious - here are the best of them.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino EditionMusic Quiz

Whether he's splitting ears or burning Nazis, Quentin Tarantino uses memorable music in his films. See if you can match the song to the scene.

Charlie Daniels

Charlie DanielsSongwriter Interviews

Charlie discusses the songs that made him a Southern Rock icon, and settles the Devil vs. Johnny argument once and for all.

Lecrae

LecraeSongwriter Interviews

The Christian rapper talks about where his trip to Haiti and his history of addiction fit into his songs.

Songs About Movies

Songs About MoviesSong Writing

Iron Maiden, Adele, Toto, Eminem and Earth, Wind & Fire are just some of the artists with songs directly inspired by movies - and not always good ones.