Terraplane Blues

Album: King Of The Delta Blues (1936)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • According to Dave Rubin in Robert Johnson - King Of The Delta Blues, this song in both 3/4 and 4/4 time was recorded November 23, 1936 at San Antonio, and was Johnson's big hit, selling around 5,000 copies, and becoming his most requested piece.

    According to Rubin, its sexual innuendo may have accounted for its popularity. Although this is not a particularly inspiring track, and Johnson's performance is basic, the influence of this one song on contemporary music is difficult to overstate, even for those who have never heard or heard of it.
  • The Terraplane was introduced by the Hudson Motor Company in 1932, and the association of the song with this car then cars per se and the aforementioned sexual innuendo has been one of the most consistent themes in contemporary music, especially rock from Chuck Berry riding along in his automobile with no particular place to go through the Beatles' "Drive My Car" through "Shut Up And Drive" by Rihanna. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2
  • Led Zeppelin based the lyrics - car parts as sexual innuendo - for their 1975 track "Trampled Underfoot" on this song. A brief comparison:

    "Terraplane Blues":
    I'll get deep down in this connection
    Keep on tanglin' with your wires
    And when I mash down on your starter
    Your spark plug will give me fire


    "Trampled Underfoot":
    Trouble-free transmission
    Helps your oil flow
    Mama, let me pump your gas
    Mama, let me do it all

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired MenSong Writing

Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.

Peter Lord

Peter LordSongwriter Interviews

You may not recognize his name, but you will certainly recognize Peter Lord's songs. He wrote the bevy of hits from Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound.

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)Song Writing

How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.