Cadillac is the automobile so synonymous with luxury. We often use its name as a figure of speech to describe the highest quality. The Cadillac of restaurants, or the Cadillac of hotels, for instance.
American automaker General Motors (GM) purchased Cadillac in 1909 and made it one of its divisions. It gradually became the most luxurious American-made car brand. It was also immersed in pop culture, from film and television to music.
For decades, some of the top musicians – from rock n’ roll legends like Bruce Springsteen to modern rappers like Macklemore – have been singing about their love for Cadillacs or using them as a metaphor for something else. Here we have 13 of the best songs about Cadillacs. Read on!
1. “Bring My Cadillac Back” By Baker Knight
We are starting this list with Baker Knight‘s “Bring My Cadillac Back.” Apparently, someone took it away!
Who would have suspected that it was the singer’s lover? He wakes up “’bout a quarter to six” to find that she has left him and taken with her his Cadillac. It drives him crazy, thinking that she loves him. Only to find out that she’s in love with someone else.
So he goes about looking for her. Well, he wants to find the woman, not because he loves her. If he had a choice, he’d “take the Cadillac.”
Related: Check out our best songs about cars post here.
2. “Cadillac Ranch” By Bruce Springsteen
In 1980, Bruce Springsteen released his first song about this car brand. “Cadillac Ranch” came from his album The River. Did you know that Cadillac ranch is a public art sculpture in Amarillo, Texas? It features ten Cadillac vehicles buried front-first in the ground.
Now back to Springsteen’s song. This is an upbeat and lively rock n’ roll song that mentions “Cadillac” in the title. It features both a piano and a saxophone.
Springsteen starts by singing about his Cadillac with “eldorado fins, whitewalls, and skirts.” It gleams in the sun, awaiting him after a day of work. However, the song is another extended metaphor. This time he is singing about the inevitability of death, with “Cadillac Ranch” representing a graveyard.
3. “White Walls” By Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Ft. Schoolboy Q
Unlike some other songs on this list, there is no hidden message or extended metaphor in our next song. In “White Walls,” we can see that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis straight-up love their Cadillac!
The song is an ode to his love of old-school Cadillacs and their white-wall tires. Here, he boasts about driving the same car that his grandfather drove. He describes driving a two-seat Cadillac with tinted windows, 24-inch rims, and a fresh Candy paint job.
Macklemore pushes back against critics who labeled him a backpack rapper. He does so by bragging that he spent thirty thousand dollars fixing up his Cadillac.
4. “Brand New Cadillac” By Vince Taylor And His Playboys
Up next on our list is a song with “Cadillac” in the lyrics. Vince Taylor and His Playboys, an English rock n’ roll band, released “Brand New Cadillac” in 1959.
In this classic upbeat rock song with a touch of blues, Taylor sings about how his baby “drove off in a brand new Cadillac.” She looks at him and says, “I ain’t never coming back.”
In other words, she is breaking up with him. He pleads with her to come back but responds by looking at his Ford. The lyrics go, “Well the Caddy’s rollin’ and going ’bout ninety-five/Well me and my Ford, we’re right by her side.” We are speculating he will never see her again.
5. “Throw Some D’s” By Rich Boy Ft. Polow The Don
In 2006, Rich Boy seemingly came out of nowhere with the smash hit “Throw Some D’s.” Not only that, though. He was a one-hit wonder with this song that focuses mainly on rims.
In the chorus, he gleefully raps, “Just bought a Cadillac.” His associates encourage him to throw some D’s – Dayton-style rims – on the vehicle.
Rich Boy goes on to describe the modifications he made to the Cadillac. First, he takes the vehicle to a chop shop to make it a convertible. Then he has gator-skin seats installed. He also purchases ten thousand dollar 22-inch rims and gets a candy-red lollipop paint job.
6. “Two Black Cadillacs” By Carrie Underwood
Country crooner Carrie Underwood released “Two Black Cadillacs” from her Blown Away album in 2012. The dark song is an extended metaphor for two women – a wife and a mistress – who discover they are romantically involved with the same man.
The song begins with Underwood describing two black Cadillacs driving in a parade with their headlights on. The women see each other for the first and last time at the burial of the man. Later on in the song, we find out that the wife called the mistress two months ago, and they discover that the man has been lying to them for a long time.
They are not about to let him off the hook for what he did to them. They decide to kill him to punish him for cheating and dishonesty. The preacher and the other people believe “he was a good man,” but only the women know it’s a lie.
7. “Cadillactica” By Big K.R.I.T.
Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T. released “Cadillactica” in 2014. The song came from his second studio album with the same name.
In the song, Big K.R.I.T. spits lyrics at a frenetic pace. He says the word Cadillac sixteen times in the chorus alone – while cursing at people who drive other makes of vehicles.
Big K.R.I.T. further asks listeners what the purpose of his rap music is. He answers that it is certainly not to drive a Toyota Rav 4. He goes on to describe modifications he made to the vehicle. Those include installing Vogue tires and fifteen-inch subwoofer loudspeakers. Finally, he laments that his grandfather would have loved to drive such a luxurious car.
8. “Slick Black Cadillac” By Quiet Riot
The American heavy metal band Quiet Riot released “Slick Black Cadillac” in 1978. From their second studio album, Quiet Riot II, the song has all the elements of a classic heavy metal song, with roaring guitar riffs and aggressive drumming.
The song starts with lead singer Kevin DuBrow singing about driving his Cadillac with big black wheels and solid gold hubcaps. He enjoys driving the Cadillac all night, and it “makes me feel like a king.”
As the song continues, we learn that he considers his Cadillac a rock n’ roll machine. So he blasts loud music and drives at high speeds. The police try to pull him over for an outstanding A.P.B., but he escapes in his Cadillac.
9. “Cadillac Pimpin” By YoungBloodZ
The Southern hip-hop duo of J-Bo and Sean P called YoungBloodZ released “Cadillac Pimpin’” from their second studio album Drankin’ Patnaz. The song is a braggadocious, upbeat rap anthem in appreciation of the Caddie.
In the first verse, J-Bo raps about driving a 1992 aqua-blue-colored Cadillac. He has a cup full of liquor in the cupholder and is smoking as he swerves around. He dodges his enemies and finds the spot where women are dancing.
In the second verse, Sean P explains that he is riding “a ‘Lac like a true playa ‘posed to do.” His Cadillac of choice is the classic Fleetwood model – it is white and has a fifth wheel on the back.
10. “Maybellene” By Chuck Berry
Pioneer rocker Chuck Berry released “Maybellene” in 1955. It is one of the earliest rock n’ roll songs and one of the earliest to reference Cadillacs.
Though the song is about fast cars, the lyrics tell us that it is also about a woman who keeps cheating on her man. There are also mentions of various cars in the song.
Berry sings about seeing Maybellene in her Cadillac Coupe DeVille. She speeds away, going 95mph while he drives his Ford V8. But when she goes at 104mph, he could no longer chase her. In the chorus, he keeps pleading for Maybellene to be true.
11. “Cadillac Song” By Ariana Grande
American singer-songwriter Ariana Grande cements her place on our list with her 2014 single “Cadillac Song.” Her angelic voice does the sad song justice as she sings about how she and her lover fall apart.
The song begins with “Ridin’ round in my Cadillac,” while the singer tells us about her devotion to a man. Eventually, we find out that their relationship did not work out. She ends up missing him.
However, she hasn’t gotten over him, and the breakup proves to be painful. When they separated, he took a piece of her heart. And when she’s in her Cadillac, it brings her back to that day they met.
12. “Two Dope Boyz (In A Cadillac)” By OutKast
Grammy-award-winning OutKast, the hip-hop duo of Andre 300 and Big Boi, is one of the greatest and most influential rap groups of all time. The first full-length track from their second studio album ATLiens was the classic song “Two Dope Boyz (In a Cadillac).”
The song sees Andre and Big Boi talk about their formidable rapping skills. Big Boi references spitting freestyles to prove a point. Andre, on the other hand, pokes fun at a contemporary who makes a feeble attempt to challenge him to a rap battle.
The two legends cannot be bothered because they are two cool dudes riding around in a Cadillac.
13. “One Piece At A Time” By Johnny Cash
The baritone-voiced country legend, Johnny Cash, released “One Piece at a Time” in 1976. When you listen to the song that mentions “Cadillac,” you might find yourself laughing or pitying the narrator.
In classic Cash fashion, his spoken lyrics describe a poor assembly lineman at a GM factory. He devises a scheme to steal the parts of a Cadillac. That is, one piece at a time. And he does so by stuffing the parts into his lunchbox on his way home.
The man dreams of riding around in style and having a hundred-thousand-dollar Caddie that he can obtain for free. The humorous conclusion of the song is when he realizes that despite his efforts, he has a mishmash of car parts that don’t fit together.
Summing Up Our List Of Cadillac Songs
The ubiquitous luxury car brand is fully intertwined with American culture. And musicians of nearly every genre have been making songs about Cadillacs for over 70 years with no end in sight.
The songs above are proof that Cadillac makes an effective song subject. And trust us when we say that more and more songwriters will be able to come up with songs that talk about this car brand.
But in the meantime, enjoy the ones we have here. Most of us may not own a Caddie. But hey, we can dream of having one while listening to these songs.
