4 Magnificent “Motel” Songs for Your Upcoming Road Trip

They’re somehow both depressing and romantic all at once. Songwriters have tapped into the dual nature of motels for many years. In fact, they’ve even gone so far as to include the word “motel” in the title for that extra-evocative touch.

These four songs come from some of the best of the best songwriters the rock music world ever produced. And they all take a stopover at a memorable motel.

“Memory Motel” by The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones used their 1976 album Black And Blue to help them decide on which guitarist would replace Mick Taylor in their lineup. Several auditioned on that record before the band decided on Ronnie Wood. Harvey Mandel (electric) and Wayne Perkins (acoustic) both played on this track, although their fine work here wasn’t enough to get either the gig. “Memory Motel” allegedly originated with Mick Jagger’s brief fling with Carly Simon. But the song is less about the girl than it is about the toll the road takes on you. Both Jagger and Keith Richards take a turn on lead vocals on the song, before eventually coming together for some gorgeous harmonies.

“Motel Matches” by Elvis Costello And The Attractions

After his previous couple of albums with The Attractions focused on high-energy, New Wave-tinged rock, Elvis Costello sought out a new sound on Get Happy!! in 1980. Well, to be more accurate, an older sound. The album found E.C. and his cohorts quite effectively riffing on sounds inspired by Motown and Stax Volt. “Motel Matches”, however, comes closer to the category of country music. There was foreshadowing at play there. Just a year later, Costello and his band would release an album (Almost Blue) of nothing but country covers. As for “Motel Matches”, Costello uses the titular objects as a metaphor for just how disposably the narrator has regrettably treated his lover.

“Melody Motel” by Squeeze

The boys in Squeeze were back on the upswing in an artistic sense on the 1989 album Frank. Unfortunately, because the album lacked a hit single like the one they’d achieved in 1987 with “Hourglass”, the record company felt it was a flop and dropped them. (They’d soon bounce back with a new deal.) Frank found the band doing what they did best, combining Chris Difford’s nimble lyrics with Glenn Tilbrook’s inventive melodies. On “Melody Motel”, the band nails a rockabilly vibe with ease. The narrative here takes several twists and turns, and it gets much darker than the peppy music suggests. What sticks with you are Difford’s killer descriptions, a la “Skin on his face like a well-worn saddle.”

“Moonlight Motel” by Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen has a knack for throwing us a big old hook when we’re all expecting a fastball from him. (Or a “speedball,” as he called it in “Glory Days”.) Western Stars, released in 2019, stands out as one of those albums that nobody could have seen coming from the Boss. Much of the record seeks out a sound that can best be described as countrypolitan, a la Glen Campbell on Jimmy Webb-penned songs like “Wichita Lineman” and “Galveston”. But on “Moonlight Motel”, the closing track, Bruce sticks to more of a folk-based approach, although the strings come creeping in to play up the pathos. And there’s a lot of it to be mined in this wonderful weeper of a song.

(Photo by John Minihan/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The post 4 Magnificent “Motel” Songs for Your Upcoming Road Trip appeared first on American Songwriter.