Life is a Highway (2024)


"Life is a Highway" is a song from Cars. It is performed by Rascal Flatts. The song was written by Tom Cochrane, and was originally performed by him as well. Rascal Flatts would record their own version for Cars. The song plays during Mack and Lightning McQueen's trip across the country and comes to an end when Harv calls McQueen.

"Life is a Highway" would also reappear in Cars: Mater-National Championship, as one of the songs to be heard during races. The song also appears on Disney's Karaoke Series: Cars, with an instrumental and vocal cover by Neil Donell. It is also used in DJ's Dance 'n' Drive at Cars Land.

Lyrics[]

(Note: Bolded lyrics are not in the movie)

[Intro]
Woo!
Hmm, yeah!
[Verse 1]
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
[Pre-Chorus]
We won't hesitate
To break down the garden gate
There's not much time left today, yeah
[Chorus]
Life is a highway!
I wanna ride it all night long!
If you're goin' my way
I wanna drive it all night long!
[Verse 2]
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, I'm back up again
You're in my blood, I'm not a lonely man
[Pre-Chorus]
There's no load I can't hold
The roads are rough, this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell 'em we're survivors
[Chorus]
Life is a highway!
I wanna ride it all night long! (Woo)
If you're goin' my way
I wanna drive it all night long! (All night long)
A gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, yeah
Life is a highway!
I wanna ride it all night long! (Hmm, yeah)
If you're goin' my way (You're goin' my way)
I wanna drive it all night long! (All night long)
[Bridge]
There was a distance between you and I (Between you and I)
A misunderstanding once
But now we look it in the eye
Ooh, yeah (Hmm, yeah)
[Instrumental Break]
[Refrain]
There ain't no load that I can't hold
The roads are rough, this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Tell 'em we're survivors
[Chorus]
Life is a highway!
I wanna ride it all night long! (All night long, yeah!)
If you're goin' my way
I wanna drive it all night long! (A gimme, gimme, gimme, a gimme, gimme, yeah!)
Life is a highway! (Life is a highway!)
I wanna ride it all night long! (Woo, yeah!)
If you're goin' my way (Goin' my way)
I wanna drive it all night long! (All night long, yeah; come on, 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 goin' my way)
!I wanna drive it all night long! (All night long!)

Trivia[]

  • "Life is a Highway" is the only vocal song from Cars that has made a reappearance in any of the video games.
  • "Life is a Highway" is also the only song from the film to receive an official music video.
  • Rascal Flatt's cover of the song would also be featured in many external media such as Top Gear: US Special, Lego Rock Band, and Fuser.

External links[]

Songs
From Films
"Real Gone" • "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" • "Life is a Highway" • "Behind the Clouds" • "Our Town" • "Sh-Boom" • "Find Yourself" • "My Heart Would Know" • "You Might Think" • "Collision of Worlds" • "Mon Cœur Fait Vroum" • "Nobody's Fool" • "Polyrhythm" • "Nothing Can Stop Me Now" • "You Don't Stop - NYC" • "Fly" • "Love Machine" • "Ein Crop Duster Can Race" • "Still I Fly" • "Runway Romance" • "All In" • "Run That Race" • "Kings Highway" • "Truckaroo" • "Thunder Hollow Breakdown" • "Glory Days" • "Ride" • "Drive My Car" • "Freeway of Love" • "Your Own Disguise"
From Attractions
"Welcome to Radiator Springs" • "Radiator Rock" • "Mambo Italiano" • "Stop in the Name of Love" • "Riding in My Car (Car Car Song)" • "Low Rider" • "Junkyard Jamboree" • "Big Bulldozer" • "Tow Mater (The One You Want to Call)" • "Mater's Square Dance" • "Let's Go Driving" • "Radiator Springs Racers: Attraction Ride Through" • "Party Rock Anthem" • "Good Feeling" • "Dancing in the Street" • "Car Wash" • "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" • "What Makes You Beautiful" • "Rock This Party (Everybody Dance Now)" • "Conga" • "Don't Go"
Miscellaneous
"Rollin' in the Rearview" • "Songbird" • "The Star-Spangled Banner" • "Me and You" • "Westbound Sign" • "Trouble" • "City to City" • "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)" • "Vantage Point Theme" • "Crash" • "Shut Up and Drive" • "Mater Bells" • "More Human than Human" • "Don't Bring Me Down" • "Tere Bina" • "Up in the Air" • "Fly High" • "The Girl from Ipanema" • "Anchors Aweigh" • "Thunderstruck"
Life is a Highway (2024)

FAQs

What is the message of Life Is a Highway? ›

it shows that you will go on your highs and your lows and you will live (drive-in songs case) through them. On a highway, you can only go forward, with other cars, so this says that you can't look back and that you have to move on with life along with everyone else.

What figure of speech is Life Is a Highway? ›

The metaphor in the song's title, "Life is a Highway," is obvious. Life is compared to a lengthy, potentially endless road. Because there are no comparisons between life and a roadway using the words like or as, it is a metaphor.

What is the metaphor for Life Is a Highway? ›

We use this in the sense that life has it's twist and turns, it's ups and downs. It shows that life doesn't stay the same forever. Soon there is going to be a bend in the road, where things will get better. This is also a metaphor.

What is the main theme of Life Is a Highway? ›

The overall theme of the song is life is a journey, and you should live your life to the fullest. The song talks about how there will be problems and difficulties throughout life, but that's what makes it a journey and worthwhile.

What does highway represent? ›

In American law, the word "highway" is sometimes used to denote any public way used for travel, whether a "road, street, and parkway"; however, in practical and useful meaning, a "highway" is a major and significant, well-constructed road that is capable of carrying reasonably heavy to extremely heavy traffic.

Why is life compared to a highway? ›

The phrase 'Life is a highway' is a Metaphor. A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two unrelated things by stating that one thing is another. In this case, life is being compared to a highway. The metaphor suggests that life is a journey with ups and downs, twists and turns, and various paths to take.

What is the irony in the Life is a highway? ›

The chorus starts with the line “Life is a highway, I want to ride it all night long” and its uptempo optimism serves as an ironic prophesy about Lightning. He's a racecar who's full of himself and his accomplishments. He's made a name for himself by going fast in circles.

What does the metaphor Life is a road mean? ›

Like with any journey, there are times when the roads are straight and times when they are winding. This metaphor example helps us remember that there will be ups and downs and potholes along the way—times when life will feel easy and times when life feels hard.

How is the road a metaphor for Life? ›

Road is life

I see roads as a metaphor for life, really. There's always something ahead and something behind you. You can't go back, as even if you took the same road twice, it wouldn't be the same. This time it could rain, there could be wild animals, or just your state of mind could be different.

Who first said Life Is a Highway? ›

Background and release. Cochrane has stated that "Life Is a Highway" was originally conceived in the 1980s as "Love is a Highway" while he was still a member of Red Rider, but was shelved at that time because he felt the unfinished song was unusable.

What key is Life Is a Highway in? ›

Life is a Highway is written in the key of F Major.

What are the sayings about Life Is a Highway? ›

“Life is a highway – the enjoyment you get depends on the lane you choose.

What figurative language is used in Life Is a Highway? ›

It primarily uses metaphors and similes to convey its message. For example, the line "Life is a highway, I wanna ride it all night long" compares life to a highway, highlighting the journey and desire for exploration.

What literary term is Life Is a Highway? ›

"Life Is a Highway," performed by Tom Cochrane and popularized by the animated movie "Cars," employs several literary devices to convey its message. Here are a few examples: 1. **Metaphor:** The central metaphor in the song is comparing life to a highway.

What is the meaning behind Life Is a Highway song? ›

Despite the “soul-sapping” poverty Cochrane witnessed on that trip, “Life Is A Highway” became a beacon of positivity for the artist. “The song became a pep talk to myself […] saying you can't really control all of this stuff, you just do the best you can,” he told The Star in 2017.

What inspired Tom Cochrane to write Life Is a Highway? ›

Cochrane says he was trying to make sense of the poverty he witnessed on his trip, which he found "shocking and traumatic". Eventually, the original demo version was released on the 25th-anniversary reissue of Mad Mad World under the original title "Love is a Highway".

Why did they write Life Is a Highway? ›

“Life is a Highway” was recorded for the Pixar Movie “Cars” by Rascal Flatts, however the song was written and recorded in the early 1990's by Canadian singer-songwriter, Tom Cochran, inspired by a trip he took to east Africa with the Christian development organization, World Vision.

What does the metaphor life is a road mean? ›

Like with any journey, there are times when the roads are straight and times when they are winding. This metaphor example helps us remember that there will be ups and downs and potholes along the way—times when life will feel easy and times when life feels hard.

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