A Song I Love – Radar Love – Golden Earring

Written by Jim S.

My Songs I Love – as opposed to Song of the Week – are tunes that, for me, have withstood the test of time. “Radar Love” is Music Enthusiast-certified as one of the greatest driving songs of all time. (Double whammy: song about driving that’s great to listen to while driving.)

I’ve been drivin’ all night, my hands are wet on the wheel
There’s a voice in my head that drives my heel
It’s my baby callin’ said I need you here
And it’s a half past four and I’m shifting gears

When she gets lonely and the longing gets too much
She sends a cable coming in from above
Don’t need a phone at all
We got a thing that’s called radar love
We got a wave in the air
Radar love

You’re driving down the road, maybe your hands are wet on the wheel, maybe they’re not. Who gives a shit. All you know is you’ve been motoring half the night down Route 66, you’re down to your last cigarette and the radio’s playing some forgotten song.

Your buddy, riding shotgun, is half-asleep. Every once in a while he snorts, shifts around in the seat, pulls his denim jacket up over his shoulder. You try to shake him awake so you have somebody to talk to but he waves you away, tells you to piss off.

You smack the radio with your hand, change the channel and then you hear it:

Bom-bom-BOM! Bom-BOM-bom!

Yes! Shuffle of drums. Then that insistent bass thing. You crank the radio up, way up. You shake your buddy. “Hey, idiot, wake up, man.” He stirs, looks over at you and gives you a shit-eating grin. “Fuck, yeah,” he says. And for the next, oh, six minutes or so, life is good.

The radio’s playing some forgotten song
Brenda Lee’s “Comin’ on Strong”

The road has got me hypnotized
And I’m speedin’ into a new sunrise
When I get lonely and I’m sure I’ve had enough
She sends her comfort coming in from above

We don’t need no letter at all

And that insistent bass/drum thing – that BASS thing – and the speed limit is 55 and – like Sammy Hagar – you cannot drive 55. You’re doing 65. 75. Nothin’ but open road.

And then there’s that whole guitar/organ Deep Purple-y part. “Man, I hope the cops are at the donut shop,” you mutter, nervously eyeing every patch of trees and grass for smokey. You’ve got “Radar Love”; he’s got radar gun.

And then at 3:48 the moment comes – pause, drum break, boom, yeah! You can’t play it because you’re driving otherwise you’d be all over that thing.

But your buddy nails it and he pounds it out on the dashboard. Yes! Can’t this radio go any louder? And you’re singing at the top of your lungs because of COURSE you sing like a fucking angel and how come nobody realizes it but you? And your mother.

No more speed, I’m almost there

Gotta keep cool now, gotta take care
Last car to pass, here I go
And the line of cars drove down real slow

And the radio played that forgotten song
Brenda Lee’s “Coming On Strong”
And the newsman sang his same song
Oh, one more radar lover’s gone

And there’s that whole buildup to the end and your buddy’s got the drums and you’re holding down the bass line which is not easy since you’re juggling a cold cup of coffee, a smoke AND trying to fucking drive. And then it’s over. Boom!

The band is Golden Earring, a Dutch band, which has been around under one name or another since 1961! “Radar Love” took over the airways back in the year 1973 A.D. They became big enough during this time period that they had Kiss and Aerosmith opening for them! Come to think of it, you and your buddy were gonna go to that show in Cleveland but you got high instead and woke up in some dude’s basement.

Now if the DJ would only play “Twilight Zone,” (“he knows damn well he has been cheated”) another great Earring song, you’d be in hog heaven. But all of a sudden in the distance you see an oasis, an all-night road stop where you can take a leak, get the truckers’ special, and enjoy a cold brew.

And you can’t help thinkin’ about your lady – baybeh! – who sends you her own particular brand of radar love from every which way. And you think to yourself, “Man, it don’t get any better than this.” Your buddy just looks out the window and smiles in that way he has, humming that nameless tune you can’t quite put your finger on. You know what I mean. I don’t have to tell you.

“Fuck, yeah,” he says.

PLAY IT LOUD!

25 thoughts on “A Song I Love – Radar Love – Golden Earring”

      1. He’s tired (driving all night), he’s anxious (hands wet on the wheel)…

        Last car to pass, here I go
        And the line of cars drove down real slow

        (time slows down as it does in accidents, and/or alternately, the slow cavalcade of a funeral procession)

        The newsman is announcing yet another road fatality (his same song):
        ‘One more radar lover gone’.

        Well that’s one read, anyway.

        Liked by 2 people

  2. Huh! Wow. I’ve heard that song like,1 million times and I’ve never heard that interpretation from any DJ or anybody. Nothing in Wikipedia or Songfacts either.

    But your interpretation holds water. Could that be the most subtle song in the history of songs and I totally missed it? Did a lot of either people miss it? Or is it so generally assumed to be true that it doesn’t even need mentioning? If true, mind-blowing, really.

    Oh, well. Stil one of the great R n R songs of all time. Fortunately, things worked out better for the guys in my little drama. Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Golden Earring’s “Radar Love” is today still one of my favorites. Not forgetting Shocking Blue with Mariska Veres or Cuby and the Blizzards, later came Herman Brood and his wild romance. They all have sung in English and were not properly perceived as Dutch groups.

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    1. There was a movie years ago called Detroit Rock City. I believe it was either about kids trying to meet Kiss or be in a tribute band. Interestingly, I believe Radar Love was in the movie, never made the soundtrack. Boy, I’m so not a Kiss fan. Never saw the appeal.

      Liked by 2 people

        1. Their target demographic. I wasn’t very discriminating at that age either. Took time and (for me), the intercession of friends to help me learn how to really separate the wheat from the chaff. Although that said, some of my friends thought that some of what I listened to WAS chaff. They could never understand my Slade predilection for example. Ear of the beholder I guess.

          Liked by 1 person

        2. Slade were great, man. I went from Kiss to Slade. Never looked back.
          I recently downloaded some Kiss to see if it was as bad as I’d thought. It was. Puerile crap for kids.

          Liked by 1 person

  5. I had no idea there were lyrics that made sense. I thought you just got your head down in that strange late 70’s early 80’s neanderthal male with too much hair dancing as you bellowed what you thought the lyrics are.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. There are just some perfect, timeless records out there. This is one of them. Not quite on the same level but a great, underrated single is “When the Lady Smiles.” Unfortunately, the video was kind of disturbing and in the mid-80s that was the kiss of death.

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    1. To your previous point about the song’s meaning, boy I must be thick as a brick because I never gave it one thought. I thought the “line of cars moving slow” was pretty much just that. And “one more radar lover’s gone?” I dunno, on his way down the road, maybe? Just seemed like a fun rocker, not subject to much analysis. I did find one forum online that supported the other commenter’s idea. Hey, Netherlands readers. Please track down Golden Earring and ask them, ok? Get back to us. 😀

      Yes, perfect and timeless, true. A buddy reminded me that it was inescapable at the time. He’d turn off one station to get away from it, only to find it on another station. As to “Lady,” I read about it but I confess I’d never heard it before. Kinda tanked here in the US. But “Twilight Zone?” Boy, I love that song. They were initially gonna cal it something like “Bullet to the Bone” but it was deemed too nasty a title.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. You can not go on any long rode trip without hearing this classic at some point. I thoroughly enjoyed the read while listening to the tune Going through the comments I like you never but the ending together.

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  11. Arrows To Fire just released their cover of Radar Love on Amazon exclusive open road playlist – they did it their way and it sounds great !!!!

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  12. As a Dutch guy I am very happy to read that a Dutch band made it in America. I saw them live once and they rocked. They still play every now and again. The guitarist (George) has recently even joined some other famous Dutch musicians to form a new band (unfortunately for you they sing in Dutch): Vreemde Kostgangers. He plays together with a guy called Henny Vrienten who was very popular with his band Doe Maar (even though it is in Dutch, you should really listen to it, you will love his bassplaying skills).

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    1. Focus were also popular for a while too. I’ll check those guys out. I have a bunch of stuff to listen to due to recent recommendations. Thanks.

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