‘The Passenger’ is a song written by Iggy Pop and Ricky Gardiner, recorded and released by Iggy Pop on the Lust for Life album in 1977. It was also released as the B-side of the album's first single, ‘Success’. It was released as a single in its own right in March 1998, reaching number 22 in the UK charts.
‘The Passenger’ was co-written by Iggy Pop and guitarist Ricky Gardiner; Pop wrote the lyrics, while Gardiner composed the music. Gardiner thought of the riff in early 1977 as he was wandering throughout the countryside, "in the field beside an orchard, on one of those glorious spring days with the trees in full blossom." In The Independent newspaper October 14, 2005 he recalled, "It was a case of the chord sequence 'slipping through' while I was lost in the glory of a beautiful spring morning." David Bowie originally sang backup vocals for the repeated "La-La"s in the chorus.
In an interview with Q magazine January 2008, Iggy Pop talked about how he and Bowie still had to do the everyday things during their "exile" in Berlin: "Living in a Berlin apartment with Bowie and his friends was interesting. Who did the chores? Well, I seem to remember doing a little hoovering. The big event of the week was Thursday night. Anyone who was still alive and able to crawl to the sofa would watch Starsky And Hutch." Iggy Pop told The Guardian: "'The Passenger' was partly written about the fact I'd been riding around North America and Europe in David (Bowie)'s car ad infinitum. I didn't have a driver's license or a vehicle."
RCA Records issued Lust for Life on September 9, 1977, with ‘The Passenger’ as the fourth track on side one of the original LP, between ‘Some Weird Sin’ and ‘Tonight’. The song was released as the B-side of ‘Success’ in October 1977, but failed to chart. Pop's press officer Robin Eggar attempted to pursue RCA to issue ‘The Passenger’ as an A-side, feeling it would be a hit, but he was ignored. Following its use in a car commercial two decades later, the song was released as an A-side by Virgin Records in March 1998 with ‘Lust for Life’ and The Idiot track ‘Nightclubbing’. The single peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart and remained on the chart for three weeks. ‘The Passenger’ has remained a mainstay of Pop's live performances. The song received an official music video in 2020, 43 years after its initial release.
Label – RCA
Songwriters – Iggy Pop, Ricky Gardiner
Producers – Bewlay Bros.
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]I am the passenger
And I ride and I ride
I ride through the city's backsides
I see the stars come out of the sky
Yeah, the bright and hollow sky
You know it looks so good tonight
[Verse 2]
I am the passenger
I stay under glass
I look through my window so bright
I see the stars come out tonight
I see the bright and hollow sky
Over the city's ripped-back sky
And everything looks good tonight
[Chorus]
Singin' la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la
[Verse 3]
Get into the car
We'll be the passenger
We'll ride through the city tonight
We'll see the city's ripped backsides
We'll see the bright and hollow sky
We'll see the stars that shine so bright
The sky was made for us tonight
[Verse 4]
Oh, the passenger
How, how he rides
Oh, the passenger
And he rides and he rides
He looks through his window
What does he see?
He sees the sign and hollow sky
He sees the stars come out tonight
He sees the city's ripped backsides
He sees the winding ocean drive
And everything was made for you and me
All of it was made for you and me
'Cause it just belongs to you and me
So let's take a ride and see what's mine
[Chorus]
Singin' la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la
[Verse 5]
Oh, the passenger
He rides and he rides
He sees things from under glass
He looks through his window-side
He sees the things he knows are his
He sees the bright and hollow sky
He sees the city asleep at night
He sees the stars are out tonight
And all of it is yours and mine
And all of it is yours and mine
So let's ride and ride and ride and ride
[Chorus]
Singin' la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la
Singin' la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la