Riding With Private Malone

Album: Amigo (2001)
Charted: 36
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about a guy who buys a "Chevy" which turns out to be a Corvette. In the car he finds a note written by a soldier named Private Andrew Malone. It says that if you are reading this it means he never made it home and that you will always be riding with Private Malone. The guy always feels Private Malone with him while he is driving, then one night he gets into a bad wreck and someone says they saw a soldier pull him from the crash - he knows that it was Private Malone. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Casey - Fredricksburg, VA

Comments: 8

  • Jennifur SunSuch a great tune. So glad my brother made it home from Nam.
  • Dawn from Clermont, Fl I heard a song by David Bell the other day but don't remember the name. I think it was something like " I always see you", If you can figure it out can you please let me know. Some of the words were,I am driving and I will see you there.
  • Ted Hale from Mackay,idaho, IdI would like to thank David Ball for singing riding with . pvt. malone .means a lot to me thanks Ted Hale Idaho
  • Music.master from N/a, MeDave [From Cardiff, Wales]... The David Bell here is a country musician born in early 1954...fulfilling his career much earlier then the David Bell in the Eighties Syntho-Pop band "Soft Cell"...Your answer is no, they are not the same person nor related... Thanks for Asking! :)
  • Mark from Byrdstown, TnBall was a member of Uncle Walt's Band in the 1970's based in Austin.Ball has had limited commercial success this song and "Thinkin Problem" being his two biggest hits but he is awfully good live on stage.He has a quirky delivery and really belts out his songs with a big clear voice and gives it his all.If you like a honky tonk style, Ball is your man.He is quite good.
  • Darrell from EugeneSpeaking of this song, my girlfriend, two of her lady friends and I decided that the soldier who died in Vietnam in The Dixie Chicks' "Traveling Soldier" and Private Andrew Malone from this song were the same person. After all, would you drive your brand-new 1966 Corvette roadster to the military base to sit for what would have been many years in the parking lot, or would you take the bus like the young man in the Dixie Chicks song would? I would take the bus. Corvettes are valuable, always will be and have been since the first V-8 and manual transmission came out in 1955.
  • Darrell from Eugene, United StatesIn my hometown, there was an urban legend about a green 1972 Dodge Charger that belonged to one of the last soldiers who died in Vietnam, had less than 10,000 miles and was in cherry condition, but the car was actually a trashed-out junkheap that had 200,000 miles and was owned by someone who had been committed to the state hospital.
  • Dave from Cardiff, WalesIs this the same David Ball who was a member of Soft Cell (with Marc Almond) in the 1980s and also of dance act The Grid in the 1990s??
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum

Dave Pirner of Soul AsylumSongwriter Interviews

Dave explains how the video appropriated the meaning of "Runaway Train," and what he thought of getting parodied by Weird Al.

70s Music Quiz 1

70s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

The '70s gave us Muppets, disco and Van Halen, all which show up in this groovy quiz.

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-Outs

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-OutsSong Writing

The 10 biggest "retirement tours" that didn't take.

Tommy James

Tommy JamesSongwriter Interviews

"Mony Mony," "Crimson and Clover," "Draggin' The Line"... the hits kept coming for Tommy James, and in a plot line fit for a movie, his record company was controlled by the mafia.

Church Lyrics

Church LyricsMusic Quiz

Here is the church, here is the steeple - see if you can identify these lyrics that reference church.

Desmond Child

Desmond ChildSongwriter Interviews

One of the most successful songwriters in the business, Desmond co-wrote "Livin' La Vida Loca," "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" and "Livin' On A Prayer."