The Motorcycle Song
Composer(s): Arlo Guthrie
Performer(s): Arlo Guthrie



I don't want a pickle
Just want to ride on my motorsickle
And I don't want a tickle
'Cause I'd rather ride on my motorsickle
And I don't want to die
Just want to ride on my motorcy... cle

It was late last night the other day
I thought I'd go up and see Ray
So l went up and I saw Ray
There was only one thing Ray could say, was

I don't want a pickle
Just want to ride on my motorsickle
And I don't want a tickle
'Cause I'd rather ride on my motorsickle
And I don't want to die
Just want to ride on my motorcy... cle

This song is about the time that I was ridin' my motorcycle
Going down a mountain road, at 150 miles an hour, playin' my guitar 
On one side of the mountain road there was a mountain, and on the other side there was nothin' - there was a cliff in the air

Now, when you're going down a mountain road at 150 miles an hour you gotta be very careful, especially if you're playin' a guitar 
Especially if that guitar is an acoustic guitar
Because if it's an acoustic guitar, the wind pressure is greater on the box side than on the neck side, because there's more guitar on the box side 
I wasn't payin' attention...

Luckily I didn't go into the mountain - I went over the cliff
I was goin' at 150 miles an hour sideways and 500 feet down at the same time

I knew it was the end 
I looked down, I said ''Wow! Some trip" 
I thought it... well I knew it was... 
I knew it was my last trip, and in my last remaining seconds in world, I decided to write one last farewell song to the world

Put a new ink cartridge in my pen 
Took out a piece of paper
I sat back and I thought awhile 
Then I started writin'
I don't want a pickle
Just want to ride on my motorsickle
And I don't want a tickle
'Cause I'd rather ride on my motorsickle

And I don't want to die
Just want to ride on my motorcy... cle"

I knew that, it wasn't the best song l ever wrote, but I didn't have time to change it 
I was comin' down mighty fast

But as you all know, and as fate would have it, I didn't die 
I landed on the top of a police car
And he died 
I drove away on the road that he was on 
I came into town at a screamin' 175 miles an hour, playin' the motorcycle song

I came into town, I jumped off my bike, the bike went around the corner by itself, went up on the stand by itself, turned itself off

I walked over to my friend 
He was standin' there eatin' pickles 
I said "Hi, what's happenin'?" 
He looked at me in the eye and said "Nothin'"

You gotta sing it with that kind of enthusiasm 
Like you just squashed a cop...

I don't want a pickle
Just want to ride on my motorsickle
And I don't want a tickle
'Cause I'd rather ride on my motorsickle
And I don't want to die
Just want to ride on my motorcy... cle