"Life Is a Highway" is a song written by Canadian rock singer Tom Cochrane, from his 1991 album, Mad Mad World.
In 2006, US country group Rascal Flatts covered this song for the 2006Disney/Pixar 3D computer-animated film, Cars, which was released on June 9, in that year. The song sold a large quantity of digital downloads, leading to a top ten peak on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition, the cover was placed as a bonus track on later versions of the album Me and My Gang, covered at a Chuck-E-Cheese show by Jasper T. Jowls, and also was included on their Greatest Hits: Volume 1. This version also won the "Favorite Song from a Movie" award at the 33rd People's Choice Awards. Neil Donell covered the song on Disney's Karaoke Series: Cars and Songs and Story: Cars.
The instrumental of the Rascal Flatts' cover version was prominently featured in the Top Gear: US Special aired on February 11, 2007. The song is included on the soundtrack for Lego Rock Band. In other Cars media, the song can be heard during races in the video game Cars: Mater-National Championship, and is one of the songs selected by DJ for a Cars Land show called "DJ's Dance 'n' Drive".
Life's like a road that you travel on
When there's one day here and the next day gone
Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your back to the wind
There's a world outside every darkened door
Where blues won't haunt you anymore
Where the brave are free and lovers soar
Come ride with me to the distant shore
We won't hesitate to break down the garden gate
There's not much time left today, yeah!
Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long
If you're going my way, well
I wanna drive it all night long
Through all these cities and all these towns
It's in my blood and it's all around
I love you now like I loved you then
This is the road and these are the hands
From Mozambique to those Memphis nights
The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights
Knock me down and back up again
You're in my blood, I'm not a lonely man
There's no load I can't hold
A road so rough, this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell them we're survivors
Life is a highway
Well, I wanna ride it all night long (Whoo!)
If you're going my way,
I wanna drive it all night long (All night long)
(Ah, Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, yeah!)
Life is a highway
Well, I wanna ride it all night long (Hmmmmm, yeah!)
If you're going my way (You're goin' my way)
I wanna drive it all night long (All night long)
There was a distance
Between you and I (Between you and I)
A misunderstanding once
But now we look it in the eye (Oooooooooh! Ohhhh! YEAH!)
(instrumental)
There ain't no load that I can't hold
A road so rough, this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Tell me we're survivors
Life is a highway
Well, I wanna ride it all night long. (All night long, yeah!)
If you're goin' my way
Well, I wanna drive it all night long
(Ah, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, yeah!)
Life is a highway (Life is a highway)
I wanna ride it all night long. (Whooooo, yeah!)
If you're going my way (You're going my way),
I wanna drive it all night long
(All night long, yeah!)
(C'mon! Ah, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, yeah!)
Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long (Yeah, I wanna drive it all night long, baby)
If you're goin' my way (You're going my way)
I wanna drive it all night long (All night long)
Music video[]
The music video starts as the three band members pulling into a drive-in theater driving three vintage vehicles. The cars allude to three characters from the film: Lightning McQueen, Doc Hudson, and Mater. As the projector rolls, scenes from the Disney/Pixar film Cars are shown as the band plays through the number. It was directed by Shaun Silva. The video was premiered in television on the Disney Channel after Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior.
Charts[]
The Rascal Flatts version subsequently became a hit on the US Hot 100 chart, where it peaked at number seven. Even though it was not officially released to country radio, many country stations played the song as an album cut, overlapping with their then-current country single "My Wish". The unsolicited country airplay brought "Life Is a Highway" to number eighteen on the country chart.
Trivia[]
During the song, in the film, the birds from For the Birds appear for a split-second: they're the only characters in Cars to not be car-ified (unless if we include the baby bumblebee shown in the Cars teaser trailer, which is also not car-ified).
The song's title is a figure of speech, meaning it is mostly about a person's ups and downs in life, with the singer comparing life to a highway and that it will never end.
Mater's Tall Tales:Rescue Squad Mater • Mater the Greater • El Materdor • Tokyo Mater • Unidentified Flying Mater • Monster Truck Mater • Heavy Metal Mater • Moon Mater • Mater Private Eye • Air Mater • Time Travel Mater Tales From Radiator Springs:Hiccups • Bugged • Spinning • The Radiator Springs 500½ Canceled Episodes:To Protect and Serve
Cars on the Road:Dino Park • Lights Out • Salt Fever • The Legend • Show Time • Trucks • B-Movie • Road Rumblers • Gettin' Hitched
Cars 2:You Might Think • Polyrhythm • Mon Cœur Fait Vroum (My Heart Goes Vroom) • Collision of Worlds • Nobody's Fool Cars 3:Run That Race • King's Highway • Glory Days • Ride Cars on the Road:Cars on the Road • TRUCKS Others:Free Ride • Welcome to Radiator Springs • Radiator Rock • Mambo Italiano • Stop in the Name of Love • Riding in My Car (Car Car Song) • Low Rider (Espanol Fantasma Mix) • Junkyard Jamboree • Big Bulldozer • Tow Mater (The One You Want to Call) • Mater's Square Dance • Let's Go Driving
Radiator Springs • Luigi's Casa Della Tires • Ramone's House of Body Art • Cozy Cone Motel • Fillmore's Taste-In • Flo's V8 Café • Mrs. Piston • Willy's Butte • Radiator Springs Curios • Radiator Springs Drive-In Theatre • Wheel Well Motel • London, England • Paris, France • Porto Corsa • Tokyo • California • Los Angeles International Speedway • Motor Speedway of the South • Ornament Valley • Big Ben • Top Down Truckstop • Big Bentley • Hollywood
