Speed King

Album: Deep Purple In Rock (1970)
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  • Good golly, said little miss molly
    When she was rockin' in the house of blue light
    Tutti frutti was oh so rooty
    Rockin' to the east and west
    Lucille was oh so real
    When she didn't do her daddies will
    Come on baby, drive me crazy, do it, do it

    I'm a speed king you go to hear me sing
    I'm a speed king see me fly

    Saturday night and I just got paid
    Gonna fool about ain't gonna save
    people gonna rock some people gonna roll
    Gonna have a party to save my soul
    Hard headed woman and a soft hearted man
    They been causing trouble since it all began
    Take a little rice take a little beans
    Gonna rock and roll down to New Orleans

    I'm a speed king you go to hear me sing
    I'm a speed king see me fly, oh
    Oh oh c'mon oh oh
    Good golly, said little miss molly
    When she was rockin' in the house of blue light
    Tutti frutti was oh so rooty
    Rockin' to the east and west
    Hard headed woman and a soft hearted man
    They been causing trouble since it all began
    Take a little rice take a little beans
    Gonna rock and roll down to New Orleans

    I'm a speed king you go to hear me sing
    I'm a speed king see me fly

    I'm a speed king you go to hear me sing
    I'm a speed king see me

    I'm a speed king you go to hear me sing
    I'm a speed king see me fly Writer/s: IAN GILLAN, IAN PAICE, JON LORD, RITCHIE BLACKMORE, ROGER GLOVER
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 10

  • Dan Gillespy from Courtenay BcThe best Deep Purple song ever.
  • Jobin Higashikata from Morioh, JapanSet my orchard on fire lol.
  • Ricky from Killie, United KingdomScott - as you say the riff was a combination of the start/stop of Hendrix's Fire in the verse but on the chorus the riff was based on Hendrix's Stone Free.
    Its rumoured that Ritchie used an SG at times, he certainly owned one at the time, but nothing can be proved and Ritchie's never confirmed where it was used on In Rock if at all. He played his '68 Strat through a Hornby Skewes Treble Booster with 200w Marshall Major (that were boosted also) and in the studio he used an Arbiter Add-a-sound for an Octave Divider, a silicon transistor Fuzz Face and a Marshall Fuzz Unit at various times. He also used his Gibson ES335 almost certainly on Child In Time. His Vox AC30 was used as well but its difficult pinning down what he used on this track - the guitar is heavier and more distorted than the earlier versions when it was originally called Kneel and Pray. I'd say it was the Strat/Marshall and treble booster set-up.
  • Mark from Londonderry, NhI agree with Bill. Ian Paice is the BEST drummer ever. Period.
  • Scott from London, OnThe original riff was an idea of Roger Glover's when Ritchie Blackmore said he wanted a riff like Hendrix's "Fire."
  • Bill from Dundee, United KingdomDeep Purple's drummer - Ian Paice - still IS one of the very best, if not THE best rock drummers.
  • Roy from Eighty Four, PaI remember reading somewhere that Blackmore played a Gibson SG on this album before he later switched to Fender Stratocasters.
  • Sam from Seattle, Wathe drums for this are amazing! DP's drummer was one of the best
  • Ulya from Sliema, EuropeI was nearly shocked when i first heard this song, this fight between the organ and the guitar, just incredible. And the vocal by Ian Gillan. Something to drave you crazy!
  • Ray from Palm Bay, Iddeep purple still perform this song in concert. they are still rockin.
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