Whilst researching the post for yesterday about bicycle songs I realised that there are a number of what one might term ‘bicycle adjacent’ songs whereby the words bicycle, cycle or bike, do not appear in the title, there is still a strong connection with this mode of transport. I though therefore that they ought to be given an honourable mention.
“Do-Re-Mi” is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. Within the story, it is used by Maria to teach the solfege of the major musical scale to the Von Trapp children who learn to sing for the first time, even though their father disallowed frivolity after their mother’s death. Each syllable of the musical solfège system appears in the song’s lyrics, sung on the pitch it names. Rodgers was helped in its creation by long-time arranger Trude Rittmann who devised the extended vocal sequence in the song.
“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid. The uplifting lyrics describe somebody who overcomes his troubles and worries by realizing that “it won’t be long ’till happiness steps up to greet me.” The single by B.J. Thomas reached No. 1 on charts in the United States, Canada and Norway, and reached No. 38 in the UK. It topped the Billboard for four weeks in January 1970 and was also the first American No. 1 hit of the 1970s.
“When I Get You Alone” is the debut single of American singer Robin Thicke—under the name Thicke—released in September 2002. It was originally to be featured on his debut studio album Cherry Blue Skies, before being placed on a revamped version of that album called A Beautiful World. The track samples Walter Murphy’s “A Fifth of Beethoven”, which is based on Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Songwriting credits thus went to “Murphy/Thicke”.
“LDN” (shorthand for, and pronounced as, “London”) is a song recorded by Lily Allen. The song was originally released on limited-edition 7″ vinyl (500 copies) in the UK on 24 April 2006, accompanied by album track “Knock ‘Em Out”. It was reissued in September 2006 following the huge success of Allen’s first mainstream single “Smile”. The re-release peaked at number six in the UK. The song is used in the soundtrack of the film The Nanny Diaries. It reached number 30 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. In 2008 the song was included in the soundtrack of the Mike Leigh film Happy-Go-Lucky. The first version of the video, recorded in speed-up camera, follows Allen riding her bike through London. It depicts many positive aspects of London, showing her taking a friendly photograph with a police officer, greeting a passer-by, eating at an ice cream café and relaxing in the public park, seeing people playing and having fun.
“Handlebars” is a song by Flobots. It was released as the first single from their debut album, Fight With Tools, and is the group’s largest success, peaking at number 37 on the Billboard and number three on the Billbaord Modern Rock Tracks chart. Jamie Laurie stated that the song is about “the idea that we have so much incredible potential as human beings to be destructive or to be creative.” “And it’s tragic to me that the appetite for military innovation is endless, but when it comes to taking on a project like ending world hunger, it’s seen as outlandish. It’s not treated with the same seriousness. …at the same time, I knew there were people at that moment who were being bombed by our own country. And I thought that was incredibly powerful.” It is the contrast between these “little moments of creativity, these bursts of innovation,” and the way these ideas are put to use “to oppress and destroy people” that the singer feels is “beautiful and tragic at the same time.”
“Side to Side” is a song by American singer Ariana Grande, featuring American rapper Nicki Minaj, from Grande’s third studio album, Dangerous Woman (2016). Grande co-wrote the song with Savan Kotecha, Alexander Kronlund, and Minaj along with its producers Max Martin and Ilya. It is a reggae-pop song, featuring guest vocals from Minaj. “Side to Side” peaked at number 4 on both the US Billboard and in the UK, becoming her first top-five single from Dangerous Woman in the former and first top-ten single from the album in the latter.
“Nothing on You” is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran from his fourth studio album, No. 6 Collaborations Project (2019), released in July 2019. It features Argentine rapper Paulo Londra and English rapper Dave. The song was written by Sheeran, Londra, Dave, Daniel Oviedo, Cristian Salazar, and Fred Gibson, produced by Gibson and Sam Tsang.
