"(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" is a popularrhythm and blues song, composed in 1946 by American songwriterBobby Troup. The lyrics relate a westward roadtrip onU.S. Route 66, a highway that traversed the western two-thirds of the U.S. fromChicago, Illinois, toLos Angeles, California. The song became astandard, with several renditions appearing on the record charts.
Bobby Troup got the idea for the song on a cross-country drive fromPennsylvania toCalifornia.[1] Troup wanted to try his hand as aHollywood songwriter, so he and his wife, Cynthia, packed up their 1941 Buick and headed west. The trip began onUS 40 and continued alongUS 66 to the California coast.[1] Troup initially considered writing a tune about US 40, but Cynthia suggested the title "Get Your Kicks on Route 66".[2]
The song was started during the ten-day trip and finished after consulting a map in Los Angeles. The lyrics mention several cities and towns encountered along the way;[3] Cynthia later commented: "What I can't really believe is that he doesn't haveAlbuquerque in the song."[1]
Billy Bragg recorded an anglicised version of the song titled "A13 (Trunk Road to the Sea)" for aJohn Peel session in 1985. It uses the original music, but the landmark cities are replaced with English towns along the route of theA13, with Bragg inviting listeners to "Go motoring, on the A-thirteen". According to Bragg, he wrote the lyrics while playing with his band Riff Raff in 1977: while the band played "Route 66" as part of their set, Bragg "objected to singing about these places that (he) didn't know... there's a tradition of driving down the A13 to the glory of Southend. Growing up in Barking, that was the promised land, in quite a Springsteenish way". The song was originally meant to be released on Bragg's 1983 debut album,Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy; however, it was ultimately not included due to problems getting permission to use the music of "Route 66". It was finally released commercially on the bonus disc of the 2003 compilationMust I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg.[9]
