Life Is a Highway

"Life is a Highway" is a song written by Tom Cochrane, from his 1991 album, Mad Mad World.

In 2006, American country band Rascal Flatts covered this song for the Disney/Pixar animated film Cars, which was released on June 9, 2006. 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 American special aired 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.

Music video

The music video portrays the three band members pulling into a drive-in theater driving three vintage vehicles. The cars allude to three characters from the movie: Lightning McQueen, Doc Hudson, and Mater. As the projector rolls, scenes from the Disney/Pixar movie Cars are shown as the band plays through the number. It was directed by Shaun Silva.

Charts

The Rascal Flatts version subsequently became a hit on the US Hot 100 chart, where it peaked at number 7. 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 18 on the country chart.

Lyrics

(Whoo! Hmmm, yeah!)

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 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 goin' 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
Road so rough, this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell 'em we're survivors

Life is a highway
Well, I wanna ride it all night long
If you're goin' 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 goin' 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 misunderstandin' once
But now we look it in the eye
Ooooohh, yeah!
(Mmmm, 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 'em 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
(Ooooo, yeah)
You're going my way (you're goin' 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 goin' my way)
I wanna drive it all night long (all night long)