Percy Sledge knocked it out of the park when he recorded ’When a Man Loves a Woman’ in 1966. The song hit Number One on Billboard’s Hot 100 and R&B charts that year and ranks among the best of the Sixties sound.
Percy Sledge would never enjoy another hit anywhere near the impact of ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’, even though he had an amazing set of pipes during his heyday.
Poor imitations of the song have been recorded since Percy’s version, but none matched his legendary hit. Most notable in the mediocrity department was the 1991 Michael Bolton cover of ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’.
Jim Sutherland
However, we at MyStarCollectorCar are all about the vintage variety of vehicles, so we lean heavily toward Percy Sledge’s original 1966 rendition of ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’.
It’s Valentine’s Day, so we want to change the lyrics just a tad to offer our MyStarCollectorCar revision of the tune because we believe it can also be applied to the relationship between a car guy and his vintage ride.
You be the judge:
‘When a Car Guy Loves an Old Car’
“When a car guy loves an old car, he can’t keep his mind on nothing else
He’ll trade the world for the good thing he’s found
If she is bad, he can’t see it, she can do no wrong
Turn his back on his best friend, if he put her down
When a car guy loves an old car, spend his very last dime
Trying to hold on to what he needs
He’d give up all his comforts, sleep out in the rain
If she said that’s the way it ought to be
Well, this car guy loves you, old car
I give you everything I got
Trying to hold onto your heartless love
Baby please don’t treat me bad
When a car guy loves an old car
Deep down in his soul
She can bring him such misery
If she’s playing him for a fool, he’s the last one to know
Loving eyes can never see
Yes, when a car guy loves an old car, he can do her no wrong
He can never want some other old car
Yes, when a car guy loves an old car, I know exactly how he feels
Cause Baby Baby, you’re my world
When a car guy loves an old car”
There are a few obvious features of this song that link it to an old car. The first is the female subject of love because most car guys call their old cars “She” in reference to the vehicle’s gender.
Also, the song is about an unbalanced relationship between a man and a woman, a characteristic often found in the car hobby when a car guy devotes his time and wallet to an old car. With mixed results in too many cases.
In summary, the one-sided romance in the song mirrors the heartbreak found when things go off the rails during a car project.
Nevertheless, Happy Valentine’s Day.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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