"1952 Vincent Black Lightning" | |
---|---|
Song by Richard Thompson | |
from the album Rumor and Sigh | |
Released | May 1991 |
Recorded | 1991 |
Studio | Sunset Sound, Los Angeles and Konk Studios, London |
Genre | Folk |
Length | 4:43 |
Songwriter(s) | Richard Thompson |
Producer(s) | Mitchell Froom |
Music video | |
"1952 Vincent Black Lightning" on YouTube |
"1952 Vincent Black Lightning" is a song by guitarist Richard Thompson from his 1991 album Rumor and Sigh . It tells the story of a thief named James and the girl Red Molly whom he charms with a ride on his 1952 Vincent Black Lightning motorcycle, which he bequeaths to her on his deathbed. In 2011 Time magazine listed the song in its "All TIME 100 Songs", a list of "the most extraordinary English-language popular recordings since the beginning of TIME magazine in 1923," praising it as "a glorious example of what one guy can accomplish with just a guitar, a voice, an imagination and a set of astonishingly nimble fingers." [1]
Despite not being issued as a single, the ballad became a fan favourite and is one of Thompson's most highly acclaimed solo compositions. [2] A live version of the song appears on Thompson's album Two Letter Words: Live 1994 .
The band Red Molly, who has covered the song, takes its name from the lead female character in the song. [3]
The song focuses on the main character's love for both his girlfriend and his 1952 Vincent Black Lightning, a rare British motorcycle of which perhaps 30 were made. [4] The character James compares it to other cycles of the age in his dying speech:
Says James, in my opinion, there's nothing in this world
Beats a '52 Vincent and a red headed girl.
Now Nortons and Indians and Greeveses won't do
They don't have a soul like a Vincent '52. [5]
While most cover versions of this song by different artists remain with the original lyrics listing those same three makes of motorcycle (that "don't have a soul like a Vincent '52"), Thompson himself often varies the makes in his performances, variously including the following makes: Triumph, Harley, Enfield, Douglas, Rudge, Matchless, and Ducati.[ citation needed ]
Interviewed in the 2003 BBC Four documentary Solitary Life, Thompson said: "When I was a kid, that was always the exotic bike, that was always the one, the one that you went "ooh, wow". I'd always been looking for English ideas that didn't sound corny, that had some romance to them, and around which you could pin a song. And this song started with a motorcycle, it started with the Vincent. It was a good lodestone around which the song could revolve". [6]
The song has been covered by many artists:
American artists who cover the song frequently change the place reference, Box Hill to Knoxville. [10]
Richard Thompson is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist.
Vincent Motorcycles was a British manufacturer of motorcycles from 1928 to 1955. The business was established by Philip Vincent who bought an existing manufacturing name HRD, initially renaming it as Vincent HRD, producing his own motorcycles as HRD did previously with engines purchased as complete assemblies from other companies. From 1934, two new engines were developed as single cylinder in 500 cc and v-twin 1,000 cc capacities. Production grew from 1936, with the most-famous models being developed from the original designs after the War period in the late 1940s.
The Vincent Black Shadow is a British motorcycle designed and built at the Vincent works in Great North Road, Stevenage, Hertfordshire UK. Motorcycles produced by Vincent H·R·D at their factory in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England were renowned for their design innovation, engineering excellence and high performance. Already advertising their existing 110 mph Rapide machine as "The world's fastest production motorcycle", in February 1948 the distinctive Vincent Black Shadow was announced with a top speed of 125 mph. Built in three different Series over the course of its life, the line continued until 1955, after which the company stopped all motorcycle production.
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