Though his popularity has fluctuated through the years, many of Pop's songs have become well-known, including "Lust for Life", "The Passenger", "Real Wild Child", "Candy" (a duet with Kate Pierson of The B-52's), "China Girl", "Nightclubbing", "Search and Destroy" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog".
In 2010, The Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Pop was the lead singer of The Stooges, a late 1960s/early 1970s band that featured brothers Ron and Scott Asheton and Dave Alexander and was highly influential in the development of hard rock. The debut album was produced by the Velvet Underground's John Cale. The band's "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is a garage punk standard.
Raw Power was first released in1973, perhaps the first record that could truly be called punk. It was the confluence of The Stooges ages, hormones, creativity, ability, experience, tastes, lack of supervision, contempt for authority and ambition that has made Raw Power one of the most influential albums of all time.
The Stooges were infamous for performances in which Pop leapt off the stage (hence, the "stage dive"), smeared raw meat or peanut butter over his chest and cut himself with broken bottles. A glimpse of the vibrating intensity of Iggy live can be seen in the Ramones movie "End of the Century." Guitarist James Williamson became a key collaborator, a partnership documented on the 1978 album Kill City.
In 25 years as a solo artist, Pop's best-known songs have included the thumping Lust for Life, to be heard on the soundtrack of the find-a-vein, shoot-it-up movie Trainspotting, I'm Bored and The Passenger (the latter based on a poem written by Jim Morrison). David Bowie played a key role in reinvigorating Pop's post-Stooges career and was a collaborator on the albums Lust for Life and The Idiot. Iggy may be under-rated as a songwriter. Bowie and Tina Turner covered his "Tonight". Bowie also put out his own version of "China Girl," while Grace Jones covered the icey "Nightclubbing".
Motorcycle
Iggy Pop Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Through the smoke and fire
Of the exhaust fumes
She just laughed and loved me 'till I was no use
And I'll never fall in love again
She's a motorcycle that I can't ride
She's a precious jewel that I can't buy
She's a scene I'm playin' in which I die
"I never play to win"
Is what she said
And poured a little cocaine in my head
She's a fuckin' Picasso in bed
And I'll never fall in love again
Now your voice
So Spanish and clear
Rings like a church bell in my ear
But I don't believe in a word I hear
And I'll never fall in love again
My mind calls you in the night
My mind calls you and I want to take flight
To some other garden of sweet delight
And I'll never fall in love again
The song "Motorcycle" by Iggy Pop captures the sorrowful sentiments of a protagonist who has become disillusioned with the concept of love. The lyrics suggest that he encountered a woman in a dream who was a personification of everything he had been searching for, and of course, that love was too good to be true. The singer eludes to the fact that the woman he met in his dream was only present temporarily as explained in the lyrics "Through the smoke and fire of the exhaust fumes. She just laughed and loved me 'till I was no use. And I'll never fall in love again." These lyrics express the idea that the moment of love seemed so brief and fleetingly temporary, that he felt love was just a faded memory.
The singer continues to describe his inability to pursue love with the metaphor of a motorcycle. The motorcycle represents his unattainable love. The idea of it being unattainable is emphasized in the lyrics "She's a motorcycle that I can't ride, She's a precious jewel that I can't buy." The singer paints a picture of a dream-like love that is too good to be true, as it just withers away like steam rising off the highway. The song also alludes to aspects of drug use that further leave the singer feeling delusional and is possibly the reason for the entire encounter of the dream & the unattainable love being felt.
Overall, the lyrics of "Motorcycle" convey the idea that the singer has a firm belief that love is not achievable for him, and the dream that he had in the past is to remain just that, a dream. The song portrays the singer's state of feelings exceptionally well, the idea of a willingness to surrender to love but the fear of not getting it or of it being temporary is overwhelming to the singer.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw her in a dream but it wasn't true
I had an imaginary encounter with her, which never actually happened in real life.
Through the smoke and fire, of the exhaust fumes
Amidst the chaos and commotion of the surroundings.
She just laughed and loved me 'till I was no use
She derived pleasure from loving me until she didn't need me anymore.
And I'll never fall in love again
I don't want to fall in love ever again.
She's a motorcycle that I can't ride
She's someone that I can't have or control like a motorcycle.
She's a precious jewel that I can't buy
She's invaluable and not up for sale, and therefore, unattainable.
She's a scene I'm playin' in which I die
She's a deadly pursuit or involvement for me, which could destroy me.
I never play to win, is what she said
She revealed that she doesn't engage in things to win or defeat others.
And poured a little cocaine in my head
She intoxicated me with a dose of cocaine.
She's a fuckin' Picasso in bed
She's an amazing artist or performer at lovemaking.
Now your voice, so Spanish and clear
Your voice is melodious and clear, with a Spanish accent.
Rings like a church bell in my ear
Your voice is pleasant and resonates like a church bell.
But I don't believe in a word I hear
I have my doubts about the authenticity of what you say.
My mind calls you in the night
I yearn for you in my thoughts, especially during the night.
My mind calls you and I want to take flight
I feel like fleeing to a different place or situation, where I can escape from my feelings for you.
To some other garden of sweet delight
To a different place or situation, where I can find happiness and pleasure without the complications of love.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JAMES OSTERBERG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
R Robinson
on Livin' On The Edge Of The Night (edit)
Here are corrections to incorrect lyrics - outrageously, stupidly incorrect: The first line is, "ILL WIND off the river". (And that's ill, not I'll.) The second line is, "smoke stacks fade to BLACK". Second verse: "I've made my bed but I can't REST my head". And "so much COULD be misunderstood". Bridge: "WELL maybe it's just my life". An artist crafts his work meticulously , then this is what happens to it. Disgusting.