Pink Cadillac
by Bruce Springsteen

Album: Tracks (1984)
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Songfacts®:

  • Bruce Springsteen has a thing for cars, especially Cadillacs - in 1980 he released a song called "Cadillac Ranch." In "Pink Cadillac," he lets his girl know why he loves her even though she gets on his nerves. It's not her money, it's her candy-colored Cadillac with the plush velvet seats. He even gets biblical in the second verse, explaining that it wasn't an apple Eve used to tempt Adam, but a Pink Cadillac.
  • This was first released in 1984 as the B-Side of "Dancing In The Dark." It did not appear on an album until 1998 when it was included on Tracks, a collection of Springsteen outtakes.
  • In 1985, the year after this song was released, Aretha Franklin sang about riding in a pink Cadillac on her hit "Freeway of Love" (even though she didn't drive). With pink Cadillacs in the musical zeitgeist, Natalie Cole covered Springsteen's song in 1988 and had a bit hit with it, sending it to #5 in the US.

    Another commonality between "Pink Cadillac" and "Freeway Of Love": Clarence Clemons played saxophone on both recordings.
  • Springsteen put this together after most of the crew had left the recording session. He started strumming the riff on an acoustic guitar, put down the basic track, and recorded it with the band in the morning.
  • The song is a little racy, but far from the red line. Still, in 2001 AOL would not let users quote the lyrics in a Springsteen discussion group because they felt they were too suggestive. One of the offending lines was, "My love is bigger than a Honda, yeah it's bigger than a Subaru."

Comments: 16

  • Justin from Up High NcIN the mid 80's there was an 8 track compilation that featured Gizmo from Gremlins driving a pink Cadillac on the cover. I have been looking for the name of that 8 track for nearly 30 years any help anyone could give would be amazing.
  • Lyrian from Coos Bay, OrIt seems like the Boss is expertly putting on some kind of an accent with these vocals, mebbe Ozarks?? Anyway, this is my favorite Bruce Springsteen song.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyFor what its worth; on August 22nd 1902, the Henry Ford Company founded the Cadillac Motor Company, the new company was named after Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac {founder of Detroit, Michigan}. General Motors purchased the company in 1909…
    The Cadillac emblem is based on de Cadillac's coat of arms...
    Also on this date in 1902 Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first President of the United States to ride in an automobile {don't think it was a Caddy, unless they were able to build the first one in one day}.
  • Ken from Pittsburgh, PaSomeone as Ed The Sped how many songs HE'S written.
  • Rick from Boston, MaThis song is definitely about sex, but more specifically about women's genitalia. The use of cars as a metaphor is quite clever. Perverted mind? Maybe, but that applies to Springsteen too!
  • Dwight from Scranton, PaThis song is awesome, but I'm confused. Is he singing about a "naughty" girl when he says he wonders what she does in the back of her pink Cadillac?
  • Sarah from Kennewick, WaEd from INCOGNITO, CA is a retard. Wait, that is an insult to retards. That is all.
  • N.i. from Baltimore, MdI can't believe no one has mentioned that this song has the same melody as Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll Music."
  • Scott from West Palm Beach, FlThe term Rock-n-Roll is synonomis with sex.

    "Rock-and-Roll (räk'n roll') n. first so used (1951) by Alan Freed, Cleveland disc jockey, taken from the song "My Baby Rocks Me with a Steady Roll". The use of rock, roll, rock and roll, etc., with reference to sexual intercourse, is traditional in blues, a form of popular music that evolved in the 1950's from rhythm and blues, characterized by the use of electric guitars, a strong rhythm with an accent on the offbeat, and youth-oriented lyrics." - DK Peneny, Published 3/98 http://www.history-of-rock.com

    So if you listen to RnR, I suppose you should want and desire SEX! ;) In almost every RnR song ever written one can find some sort of sexual inuendo, comment or just plain relate sex to it's wording. Hell, just enjoy the music people! And yes, I too love the Pink Cadillac! ;)
  • Kelly from Kc, Moor....maybe we just have perverted minds.....
  • Kelly from Kc, MoKyle, I have always thought the same thing about this song. Sex, totally. Glad to hear someone else picked up on that...finally!
  • Scott from West Palm Beach, FlTo Ed: Man, what side of the bed did you get up from? ;) The Boss is undeniably one of the greatest rock-n-roll singer/songwriters of our time ... what, he can't simply have a "fun" song too? Diversity is what sets a singer/songwriting genius apart from the wannabes. The song IS catchy, and to put something together in less time it takes for me to write this - AND produce a hit maker from it ... what more need I say about the man's ability! BRUUUUUUUUUUCE!!
  • Ed from Incognito, IlGeez, this is the most boring song! If it took over 15 minutes to write/record it, they spent 10 minutes too long...and this guy's heralded as a songwriting genuis?!?!?!? Wake up!
  • Darrell from Eugene, United StatesMy 1978 Dodge Magnum XE is definitely bigger than a Honda (other than the Ridgeline "truck") and much bigger than any Subaru, it goes very fast, it uses lots of gas, it has crushed velvet seats, but it is brown with a tan top and closer to a T-Bird than a Cadillac.
  • Ameer from La, CaI love the guitar and bass riffs in this song along with some amazing drum playing. It isn't to hard to figure out what they're singing about and I love the lyrics "They say Eve tempted Adam with an apple
    But man, I ain't goin' for that
    I'm goin' for some

    Pink Cadillac...."
  • Jordan from Philly, PaThe line "My love is bigger than a Honda, yeah it's bigger than a Subaru" in a song about a Cadillac has to be a reference to Buddy Holly's "Fade Away" (recorded by the Stones as "Not Fade Away") which has a line that goes: "And my love is bigger than a Cadillac/I'll try to show it if you drive me back."
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