Saint Etienne - Like A Motorway Lyrics






He's gone, he's gone

She wears sad jeans torn at the waistband
Her pretty face is stained with tears
And in her right hand she clasps a letter
I know this means that he has gone

And in this town of misguided tourists
She never thought she'd fall in love
It was a few days after her birthday
The thrill hostess gave her first kiss

He said her skin smelled just like petals
Said stupid things he knew she'd like
She said her life was like a motorway
Dull, grey, and long till he came along

He's gone, he's gone

I said "How could he ever leave you?
You two were good, you were so right"
She said "I wish that he just left me
He'd be alive, alive tonight"

He's gone, he's gone
He's gone, he's gone
He's gone, he's gone





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Saint Etienne Like A Motorway Comments
  1. S.... S....

    Awesome....😁😁😁😁😁😁👍👍👏👏👏

  2. P.... M....

    You've butchered this song. The original is far, far better. The guitar sounds like it should be in an 80's TV show theme or computer game. Awful.

  3. M.... ....

    Sarah makes the song come alive every time I hear this play

  4. h.... ....

    Kate Cracknell is effin sexy.

  5. m.... e....

    best pop song EEEEEEEVVVVVVVVEEEEERRRRRRRRR !!!!!!!

  6. H.... M....

    London, period.

  7. F.... B....

    She used to have a boggy eye!

  8. T.... S....

    I'm not digging this remix. Love the Et.

  9. j.... ....

    They did release many good tracks but for me this is not one of them
    Chemical brothers did a completely different mix of this on there chemical reactions cover CD which I thought was brilliant nothing like the original

    j.... ....

    The David Holmes mix is superb too.

  10. D.... W....

    Am I the last to note this is the tune from Silver Dagger, an old folk song...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xlmb8gG7HU

    D.... W....

    Yes, that's been common knowledge since it came out.

  11. G.... B....

    "break-up letter" = " suicide note ". Or almost. Really? Oh well, here's Tom with the weather and evidence of Bigfoot.

  12. A.... A....

    21 May 2019

  13. F.... B....

    Did she get her Wang Eye fixed?

    F.... B....

    I've always found that quite attractive in women...Kate Moss, Claudia Schiffer, etc.

  14. c.... ....

    Those eyes....

  15. c.... ....

    Sarah is extremely hot!

  16. t.... d....

    3:32汗だく火あぶり

  17. j.... S....

    Omg. Those eyes. She's so beautiful.

  18. d.... j....

    went to see them, a few years ago at the manchester ritz stunning beautiful sarah...

  19. J.... L....

    I saw them do it live in September 2018. I got her feather scarf at the end! Yup! Really. Similar to the one in this video.

  20. C.... ....

    Loved St Etienne since way back when....I need them back in my life after a long absence.

  21. R.... ....

    Perfect for a "Lamborghini Gallardo" on the German autobahn?

  22. C.... ....

    Sublime. Dark lyrics. Killer tune. And the tight zoom in the video. Perfect!!

  23. c.... ....

    Debbie Harry would do a killer version of this....

  24. f.... p....

    autechre remix is a work of art

    f.... p....

    I'm trying so hard to understand. Autechre's remix sounds so different to this. What samples are they using from this? Is the "skeh" taken somewhere from this song? I'm so confused. The remix doesn't even sound like a remix but rather a completely different song itself.

  25. K.... J....

    Saw them live last night in London. The live version of this song was incredible. It transported me back to 1994 and it was perfection. Thanks guys for 25 years of brilliance 😃

    K.... J....

    Lucky you.

  26. J.... B....

    Superb such a amazing voice and so beautiful lady love sarah cracknell

  27. S.... O....

    Such a sad song hiding under the pulsing music - I love that contrast

  28. a.... ....

    As well as the melody and lyrics being based on an old folk song, the backing track (of the album version more than this one) seems inspired by Utah Saints' 'Trans Atlantic Glide'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHNnBx-wTtM

  29. L.... C....

    She's got the beautiful mom look. Like a child looking up at that face. She also reminds me of Christina Applegate.

  30. K.... D....

    BRILLIANT!!!!

  31. J.... D....

    loved St Etienne for years....too bad no one where Im from knows this exists..

  32. C.... T....

    This is almost identical to the Ray of Light video by Madonna.

    Same director?

    C.... T....

    Both videos contain rapid shots, this one of cars on a motorway, in ROL of all kinds of scenes from all around the world. ROL was directed by Jonas Akerlund who in 1994 only directed a video for Roxette.

  33. A.... A....

    Schmokin' !

  34. M.... S....

    Sarah is incredible , just Saint Etienne

  35. T.... S....

    Tantalizing!

  36. c.... ....

    superb ... best Saints track, from the Kraftwerk nod to the dark subject matter

  37. P.... C....

    Powerful.....!

  38. d.... j....

    went to see them in manchester, at the ritz very good band

  39. d.... n....

    thus is silver dagger.

    d.... n....

    I made a similar comment,they have just changed the lyrics.

  40. G.... V....

    A beautiful, heartbreaking song.
    There is nothing else quite like it.

  41. h.... m....

    me gustó mucho como canta esta niña, excelente

  42. B.... M....

    as suicide notes go, this one's brilliant.

  43. M.... ....

    Written by..., produced by..., video directed by....God, these official uploads are hopeless.

    M.... ....

    +MattPopOfficial So fucking profound not a clue what you're talking about. I'm guessing you like Iggy Pop.

    M.... ....

    +stereopolice Credits are missing.

    M.... ....

    @decade4music ok, thanks. 

    M.... ....

    Nothing wrong with liking Iggy AND complaining about the lack of info for an official record label video post. It might be of interest to some folk that the song was written by Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, produced and mixed by Rick Smith of Freur/Underworld, and the director I sadly do not know.

    M.... ....

    @Ernst T eh, this song appropriates its melody from an old-school folk song that joan baez popularized when she first started out, so no - not entirely a stanley/wiggs composition.

  44. N.... M....

    Gosh what an amazing beautiful song~ I love Saint Etienne so much ☆

  45. S.... R....

    :(. R.I.P Travis. Until we again.

  46. R.... N....

    I remember being shocked and heartbroken the first time I heard this song after I realized it wasn't a break up letter, but rather a suicide note. Absolutely spectacular song.
    I was a bit late on the boat, though. A pen-pal I had in London turned me on to Saint Etienne in 2001 and I've loved them since. <3

  47. b.... ....

    the tiger bay album version of this song is better.

    b.... ....

    Agree, this sound a little more alternative rock version...the Album version is more clean

    b.... ....

    It is better to have more versions than just one.

    b.... ....

    apples and oranges

  48. J.... M....

    This was a suggestion on a deftones video, I was under the impression that this would be somewhat decent. But I was wrong. 

    J.... M....

    Both have great music.

    J.... M....

    Try the David Holmes mix of the song. Maybe you will find it a bit more decent.

    J.... M....

    hopefully the bravery of this admission cancels out your questionable taste.

  49. c.... ....

    This song is fucking MAGIC!

  50. p.... ....

    OK, about 14 years after first hearing (and liking) this song, I just learned today that it's based on a folk ballad from ca. 1907 called "Silver Dagger" (also known as "Katie Dear" and "Don't Sing Love Songs"). Old news for the world at large I guess, but new to me...

    p.... ....

    @plushsnail I didn't know that. Thank you for sharing this with us.

    p.... ....

    plushsnail

    p.... ....

    Sorry, just read this comment. I met St Ettienne at a Radio One roadshow in Chelmsford about the time of this single, I made a few comments about Autobahn and Bob said it wasn't intended till he'd heard a playback!

    p.... ....

    also another similar but totally different song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixvfBI6BSPY

  51. M.... A....

    Simply Brilliant

  52. w.... ....

    My life was dull, grey and long, until Sarah came along

  53. B.... S....

    Great, great and great.

    B.... S....

    Britney SpawnNotes Wow! You are so beautiful.

  54. O.... B....

    Heresy to some I realize, but I have always loved this particular mix of the song - I believe it was specifically to try and get them some US airplay - which of course, it failed to.  But the video is edited beautifully.

    O.... B....

    Original sadness that adorns original mix is slightly lost here imo, but still great.

    O.... B....

    right :)

    O.... B....

    @ Onecharming, I live in the US and I have loved St. Etienne since the beginning. They ARE known in the US, mainly a Gay crowd.

  55. M.... D....

    LOVE LOVE THIS VIDEO!!!!!!!!

  56. J.... T....

    absolutely PERFECT

  57. p.... ....

    Sensual tune.

  58. T.... ....

    I'm betting you don't like The Verve then... moron.

  59. R.... H....

    I take it to mean her fling has committed suicide - it's not a break-up letter, it's a suicide note.

  60. H.... ....

    VERY NICE !

  61. h.... ....

    She's a hot (and talented) chick. But that aside, doesn't the music matter more than the personalities? For example, look at Fagen and Becker, two skeevy-looking dudes. However, nobody questions their talent.

  62. A.... D....

    She looks like Debbie Harry.

  63. E.... T....

    I have always understood it to be implied that he died in a car crash on the motorway.

  64. g.... k....

    The greatest 90s Pop Band...... Love them

  65. E.... T....

    Sarah is far from ugly. You're either taking the piss or totally blind.

  66. E.... T....

    The girl protagonist. She kills herself after her tourist fling leaves her. It's quite clear in the song.

  67. M.... ....

    It's ok....Not as good as their older work...

  68. P.... G....

    I think I now am too! 😜😁😌🎈 Cheers.

  69. h.... ....

    Love Saint Etienne and, of course, love Tiger Bay, but the song's plot has always confused me. So, who ends up killing themselves in the end? And why?

  70. S.... S....

    Neutral? what about this one song then? Have to love it, lol. "Like a Motorway" I mean.

  71. S.... S....

    Amazing song, I now Love Saint Etienne.

  72. a.... ....

    Such a great song!

  73. A.... ....

    yea I agree the original/album version is definately better

  74. R.... B....

    Holy crap! Never heard this till today (2013) and fell in love with it.

  75. b.... ....

    I was not a fan of punk but I understand its importance and cultural weight.

  76. S.... ....

    ...yeah true it started in the early 80s... surely around the warm ashes of punk ...it was such a burnin' southern Gust in 77-78...

  77. b.... ....

    Artists today are not really artists they are hand picked by executives.

    And the main reason for this is that these executives can control every aspect of the musics such as cost and timing.

    They have control of the whole industry and everything is planned and programmed towards the whole industry.

    The whole set up started in the 80's though we only started to see the actual consequent in the mid to late 90s with take that, boyzone, west life and all the other clones.

  78. S.... ....

    i always appreciated their music ... i mean... back in the mid 90s i knew just a few of their singles... but all the time since i was a young teenager i was excited to see their videos on mtv...

    Poor teenagers of today, most of the time their ears are polluted by artists who sold their soul to the business... (this is partially mtv's fault)

  79. L.... ....

    I agree. I bought "Tiger Bay" back in the 90's and this was the song that stood out for me. The original is superior...

  80. L.... ....

    She is sooo fine...I saw her in 2000 and even managed to touch her as she walked by me. I'm a lucky man!

    L.... ....

    rabbinirvana Wow! You got to touch.

    L.... ....

    rabbinirvana Wow! you got to touch her.

  81. a.... ....

    This is actually the remix version....

  82. C.... G....

    love her voice.. so Cool!!!

  83. J.... ....

    So cool...

  84. F.... B....

    Love her voice! So soothing....

  85. n.... ....

    @DaSkonk - I'd like to hear it, because I've only heard this version. And I think the little flourishes are a nice touch. Just my taste but I'm willing to give the original a listen.

  86. A.... G....

    Cola Boy brought me to St. Etienne. ♥

  87. c.... m....

    i only wish that future pop/dance music were influenced by these long-time faves...

  88. n.... ....

    So the guy she's singing about didn't leave her as in breaking up - he killed himself? At least that's what I get from the lyrics.
    That aside, love the music.

  89. H.... A....

    Como que?

  90. m.... ....

    i love all of Tiger Bay, it never gets old.

  91. c.... ....

    Estaría bien que alguien subiera la versión del disco. Es mil veces mejor sin el chunda chunda de fondo. Hace que la canción pierda magia.

  92. D.... C....

    Pure class and she is so pretty in that classic way

  93. b.... ....

    no one makes me feel the emotions SE does.. i don't know why..

  94. O.... ....

    si fue subido por WB podrian haber subido una version mejor y no esta mediocre.

  95. R.... ....

    @Zadunestar Thanks for the club 8 tip . U weren't kidding bout their music being similar to Saint Etienne . Will be diving deeper into this group music and see how it goes. Thanks.n my favorite on Sound of Water is Don't BAck Down . HEart failed next than how we used to live .Like the video for How we... its very relaxing for some reason.

  96. R.... ....

    @Zadunestar i listen to hug my soul for a long time like when it first came out but had no ideka it was them.they didnt get enough play here in the states for whatever reason. I guess she wasn't naked enough after all that comes before talent.