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Edwardian Gray

from Fangio by Peter Peter Hughes

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about

Another mission song, this one finds Fangio reunited with the vehicle that two decades earlier accompanied him on his failed attempt to assassinate Augusto Pinochet. Think of it in the tradition of great American rock’n’roll songs about cars, like “Little Deuce Coupe” or “Little GTO,” except this one is about a 1988 Saab 900 Turbo SPG. And the guy driving the car is on his way to kill someone. (Incidentally, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this might be the first time in the history of music that the term “greenhouse” in its automotive design context has been used in a pop song. Can somebody wiki this?)

lyrics

they met me at the airport just like they said they would
one guy with a sign, two more with a hood
we all nodded politely and headed for the door
they bound my wrists behind me and put me on the floor

two long hours in the back of a van
driven badly around the city just as fast as they can
off came the hood, up went the door
and I got a funny feeling—I’ve been here before

a business park on the outskirts of town
three units back, two units down
we scanned our palms and irises and stepped inside
sure enough—there was my ride

a Swedish stunner in Edwardian Gray
with a sagging headliner and a dirty ashtray
a two-liter four under a clamshell hood
boosting plenty healthy and sounding good

that roof so high, the hood so low
the way the greenhouse wraps around its occupants
it just says go
I’ve never had a more faithful steed
safety, comfort, stealth and speed

it had been more than twenty years since I put her away
but one whiff of cracked leather
brought me right back to that day
nothing that anyone could do about it now
and there were more important issues at hand

I grabbed that rubbery shifter and I threw it in first
spun the front tires and launched with a lurch
I had a pressing obligation one thousand miles away
with a—well let’s just say “an old friend”

across the high arid plains I drove all night
not another vehicle or soul in sight
sixteen valves tapping out the code
the oldest song I know

I reached my destination in a cold, cold sweat
how I was received I honestly forget
my friend must have known why I had come
he didn’t even try to run

that roof so high, the hood so low
the way that function has made a slave of form
it just says go
I’ve never had a more faithful steed
safety, comfort, stealth and speed

credits

from Fangio, released September 1, 2010

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Peter Peter Hughes Rochester, New York

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