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Iggy Pop — The Passenger
Album: Lust For Life
Avg rating:
7.9

Your rating:
Total ratings: 5297









Released: 1977
Length: 4:35
Plays (last 30 days): 3
I am the passenger
An' I ride and I ride
I ride through the city backsides
I see the stars come in the sky
Yeah, the bright and hallowed sky
You know it looks so good tonight

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 hallowed sky
Over the city's ripped bare sky
And everything looks good tonight

A-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

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 hallowed sky
We'll see the stars that shine so bright
Stars made for us tonight

(La la la la la la la la)

Oh, the passenger
How, how he rides
Oh, the passenger
He rides an' he rides

He looks through his window
What does he see?
He sees the slight 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

A-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

Ooh, the passenger
He rides and he rides
He sees things from under glass
He looks through his window side
He sees the things that he knows are his
He sees the bright and hallowed sky
He sees the city sleep at night
He sees the stars are out tonight

An' all of it is yours and mine
An' all of it is yours and mine
So let's ride and ride and ride and ride

A-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

A-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
Comments (438)add comment
 eyke wrote:


Thank You!  Too funny!!  LOL!  ...a MUST READ!!!   
This was on the favourite playlist in the car when our family was heading up the Aussie north coast on camping trips from when my daughter was a little baby. she's now 17 and about to finish school and it's one of her favourite songs.  Recently read in the RP comments that hearing is our first sense, how true 
Gotta dance..!!
Fantastic track. I love the drums!
 Grammarcop wrote:

Aretha Franklin --> Iggy Pop. 

Thank you, Bill, for the back-to-back Detroit content!



We got the same Aretha  intro 6/8/23 - weird!
Obviously my previous post was meant to post on Rock Steady, but how appropriate that the next tune is Iggy Pop- Passenger. Like Bill knew it would be the perfect segue
I remember arriving late one evening at Atlanta Hartman airport feeling completely burned out. Buds in, listening to RP, when Aretha came on- the bass, the beat, and all of a sudden, my fatigue lifted, and I started dancing to my connecting gate- couldn’t help it. Didn’t care about a couple of looks I got, although one of the gate agents gave me a smile.
Grandaddy of punk -- He's got a new album out that rocks ass -- EVERY LOSER.
Always a good read, Iggy Pop and the Stooges Concert Rider
I remember hitchhicking, for miles and miles, singing this great song, Thanks Iggy to have help me, under the rain, on bus station, on the toll, sleeping in the fields, walking alone along the dark roads under the starlight, singing lalalalalalala.
 eileenomurphy wrote:
I love this tune!
 
Yep, this song always makes me smile !
 Ihatethissong wrote:

Anthony Bourdain visited Iggy Pop on this Miami episode of Parts Unknown, and asked him, "what thrills you?"

And Iggy said: "This is really embarrassing, but what thrills me is being loved, and appreciating the people who are giving you that love"



Sadly, nothing thrilled Bourdain
Why does it say 426 comments but there's only about 100 on this page?
Danced to this one,,A LOT !
 elnezah wrote:


Never heard of her. Did she do something remarkable?


I can tell you they have great sex.
Great tune!!! Like the Energizer Bunny, he just keeps on going!!!  
 sfyi2001 wrote:


Nina Alu, and her Husband



{#Crown}



Never heard of her. Did she do something remarkable?
Aretha Franklin --> Iggy Pop. 

Thank you, Bill, for the back-to-back Detroit content!
Breaking bad
Driver8 checking in - the passenger.
😁
a wonderful story about a young fan and a (nice) Iggy on The Moth Radio Hour...
 nemo9at9night wrote:
iggy's letter to Laurence
 
that's pretty cool.
 lizardking wrote:

Right? Iggy's just the passenger in this pic...LLRP!!
 

Iggy's in this picture?
 sfyi2001 wrote:


Nina Alu, and her Husband



{#Crown}

 
Right? Iggy's just the passenger in this pic...LLRP!!
Great tune! Iggy Pop and Keith Richards are like the "Energizer Bunny"! In spite of everything, they just keep going on!
I recently found an article in the UK newspaper 'The Guardian' which had an Iggy 1995 letter to a fan.  Here's the link  :  https://www.theguardian.com/cu...    

(or google 'iggy pop letter')

The guy is a star
 westslope wrote:

Hilarious!  Now those concerts would have required hearing protection.
 
I wish someone had told me that back in the sixties. I don't which did more damage...music or racecars.
 Ihatethissong wrote:
Anthony Bourdain visited Iggy Pop on this Miami episode of Parts Unknown, and asked him, "what thrills you?"

And Iggy said: "This is really embarrassing, but what thrills me is being loved, and appreciating the people who are giving you that love"
 That's awesome. Thank you for sharing that.

Iggy. It's either The Passenger or Lust For Life. That's it.
Anthony Bourdain visited Iggy Pop on the Miami episode of Parts Unknown, and asked him, "what thrills you?"

Iggy said: "This is really embarrassing, but what thrills me is being loved, and actually appreciating the people who are giving me that love"
         
I got a lust for Iggy
My rating stays at 7    But the 7 is solid
 mdnlsn wrote:
That cover is the nicest pic of Iggy ever tken...looks like a high school yearbook photo.
 

I remember reading an interview with him when this album came out and he said that was his "Alfred E. Neuman" pose.
Below is James Osterberg's high school photo - 1965 Ann Arbor H.S.
That cover is the nicest pic of Iggy ever tken...looks like a high school yearbook photo.
Wonderful song. Thak's so much IGGY !!!!!!!!!!!
 sfyi2001 wrote:


Nina Alu, and her Husband



{#Crown}

 
and like so many old man Iggy prefers br......



ains of course......
Never gets old, a classic


Nina Alu, and her Husband



{#Crown}

Good Christmas Song {#Bananajam}{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Bananapiano}{#Bananasplit}
Iggy has other songs. He really does. And not just Lust For Life.  Geeeeeeeezzzz.
 Proclivities wrote:

There's more than just an influence from Bowie on this and Iggy's album prior to this - Bowie performed on and co-produced both of them.

 
Also singing the background vocals
Whenever I see this cover...I get the sudden urge to wash my hair. The photographer really should have opted for a different day for Iggy. Perhaps everyday was the same. Oh well..I enjoy this rather repetitive tune. Perhaps Iggy should sing this while showering with a strong, industrial strength shampoo.
 lizardking wrote:

... sounds like the Bowie influence was there. Heck, that is another tie in to Marc Bolan. 

 
There's more than just an influence from Bowie on this and Iggy's album prior to this - Bowie performed on and co-produced both of them.
Wonderful {#Bananajam}

I also like the Siouxsie and the Banshees version. Bill?

Hmmm...not sure if this was a string of tracks (T Rex to Cowboy Junkies to Iggy Pop) based on influences, or if it's a dark set referencing Bolan's accident "i.e. lay it down" where his passenger lived....and maybe a death song will be next?

Crazy that this album came out the same year I did (womb, not closet) and sounds like the Bowie influence was there. Heck, that is another tie in to Marc Bolan. 


Happy 70. Birthday James Newell Osterberg! {#Cheers}{#Daisy}{#Drunk}{#Bananajam}
"...Jesus? This is Iggy..."


Iggy Pop - Les Passantes (music by Georges Brassens with lyrics d'Antoine Pol), track from Après, a studio album of mostly French covers by Iggy Pop, recorded and released in 2012:

Je veux dédier ce poème
A toutes les femmes qu'on aime
Pendant quelques instants secrets
A celles qu'on connait à peine
Qu'un destin différent entraîne
Et qu'on ne retrouve jamais

A celle qu'on voit apparaître
Une seconde à sa fenêtre
Et qui, preste, s'évanouit
Mais dont la svelte silhouette
Est si gracieuse et fluette
Qu'on en demeure épanoui

A la compagne de voyage
Dont les yeux, charmant paysage
Font paraître court le chemin
Qu'on est seul, peut-être, à comprendre
Et qu'on laisse pourtant descendre
Sans avoir effleuré sa main

A la fine et souple valseuse
Qui vous sembla triste et nerveuse
Par une nuit de carnaval
Qui voulu rester inconnue
Et qui n'est jamais revenue
Tournoyer dans un autre bal

A celles qui sont déjà prises
Et qui, vivant des heures grises
Près d'un être trop différent
Vous ont, inutile folie,
Laissé voir la mélancolie
D'un avenir désespérant

Chères images aperçues
Espérances d'un jour déçues
Vous serez dans l'oubli demain
Pour peu que le bonheur survienne
Il est rare qu'on se souvienne
Des épisodes du chemin

Mais si l'on a manqué sa vie
On songe avec un peu d'envie
A tous ces bonheurs entrevus
Aux baisers qu'on n'osa pas prendre
Aux cœurs qui doivent vous attendre
Aux yeux qu'on n'a jamais revus

Alors, aux soirs de lassitude
Tout en peuplant sa solitude
Des fantômes du souvenir
On pleure les lêvres absentes
De toutes ces belles passantes
Que l'on n'a pas su retenir


 ShaunJ wrote:

Gavin Harrison told a funny story about touring with Iggy. He said the sound was so loud that the bass cabinets next to his drums made his eye balls vibrate. {#Drummer}

 
Hilarious!  Now those concerts would have required hearing protection.
Poor Iggy. All those really good songs, and all we get is The Passenger and Lust For Life.
Awesome. S-Bahn influence? Who knows, but it sounds just so New York. Don't hear that much Bowie in this, although at the time, Bowie was effectively acting as a friend,  collaborator and ... A muse? 
 LinThizzy wrote:

pure Scheiße

 
Better get it out of your ears then.

pure Scheiße
Happy birthday James.
 
Prevailing.
just sounds better and better as the years go by
BOWiE!

{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Dancingbanana_2}

 

WHAT A GREAT SONG; STILL LOVE IT AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 


I crawl back into my bottle of formalydahyde
 stunix wrote:
Maybe with all the dosh Icky made from this he should re record it with a better quality microphone. 

 
I was kinda thinking he might buy a shirt first



 stunix wrote:
Maybe with all the dosh Icky made from this he should re record it with a better quality microphone. 

 
He spent that money long ago - this album is almost 40 years old.
Maybe with all the dosh Icky made from this he should re record it with a better quality microphone. 
Great song... but I can't help myself, the DJ Gollum's cover is yet much better... {#Laughing}
 jagdriver wrote:
...n I...just wanna...be...your dog!

 
Yeah...HOW COME RP DOESN'T HAVE ANY STOOGES' SONGS IN THE LIBRARY?
Talk about NO FUN!!
 Poacher wrote:
I have a great shot of Iggy with Mrs Poacher in Miami giving her a hug (or at least that is what she said he was doing). She was on a photographic shoot and he just happened to roll up in a pink caddy convertible to take in the beach. She struck up a conversation and apparently he was lovely and charming and happy to take a photo.

Say what you like about his music, the man is an icon and has, for his part, changed the face of music over his life. He should be given a whole lot more credit than he does in my opinion. 

 
Photographic shoot? Hugs from a charming Iggy? Just how hot is this Mrs. Poacher?

I agree with you on Iggy deserving more credit/fame. He certainly brings it when he performs live. The man has almost no fat on him: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDU6TJcrZdA 

(Poacher, hope your wife's back is better...) 
 tulfan wrote:

Here, Here. Iggy is another home-town favorite. Love him...

 
Gavin Harrison told a funny story about touring with Iggy. He said the sound was so loud that the bass cabinets next to his drums made his eye balls vibrate. {#Drummer}


...n I...just wanna...be...your dog!
 Poacher wrote:
I have a great shot of Iggy with Mrs Poacher in Miami giving her a hug (or at least that is what she said he was doing). She was on a photographic shoot and he just happened to roll up in a pink caddy convertible to take in the beach. She struck up a conversation and apparently he was lovely and charming and happy to take a photo.

Say what you like about his music, the man is an icon and has, for his part, changed the face of music over his life. He should be given a whole lot more credit than he does in my opinion. 

 
Here, Here. Iggy is another home-town favorite. Love him...
Thanks for the ride, Mr. Pop.
Riffs and bass lines don't get anymore addictive than this!
Thanks for playing The Passenger. Made me smile! :)
 
Hi i am from germany Hamburg.Radio paradise is absolut great. Thanks for this individual music. Oldharly {#Dancingbanana}
 
Rinse, lather, scrub, rinse...then repeat x6.
 Limpopoking wrote:

If you're not an unsupervised quadriplegic who is perched more than nose distance from your sound system, then I'm afraid I have little sympathy for you.

 

Damn right.
 RedTopFireBelow wrote:
PLEASE... MAKE IT STOP!!!!    It's hurting my ears!!!!    Oh lord, they're bleeding!!!!  


{#Stop}
  

 
If you're not an unsupervised quadriplegic who is perched more than nose distance from your sound system, then I'm afraid I have little sympathy for you.
PLEASE... MAKE IT STOP!!!!    It's hurting my ears!!!!    Oh lord, they're bleeding!!!!  


{#Stop}
  
 treatment_bound wrote:




Even The Igster wore a tie at one point!  


Good looking kid. I wonder if his parents were disappointed with his career plans. 
 


Try 'I'm Bored' - great Iggy Pop song, I remember hearing it when I was 12, still holds up.  There's a funny video of it here, the worst case of lip-sync ever, especially where he's shoving the mic down his crotch and the singing goes on uninterupted...  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33-zrdWWlzQ
 lemmoth wrote:
Cool review on AMG: "The Passenger" first rode into view on Iggy Pop's third solo effort, Lust for Life, the follow-up album coming quickly on the heels of his first real musical collaboration with David Bowie, The Idiot LP released earlier that same year. "The Passenger" is a voyeuristic homage to the nocturnal wanderings of life lived after hours. Many of the tracks on Lust for Life are co-written with Bowie, but the music on "The Passenger" was provided by session guitarist Rick Gardiner. The tune is based on a laid-back four-chord progression, where the end of each chord is clipped, giving buoyancy to the mid-tempo rhythm. Seriously rock-solid support from brothers Tony and Hunt Sales on bass and drums nails down a springy groove. "The Passenger" was written during a self-imposed "exile" in Berlin, Germany, where Pop and Bowie undertook to distance themselves from their drug connections, a move they later admitted was only moderately successful, as they could not resist the hedonistic nightlife the city had to offer. The lyrics, written around this time, make it easy to imagine the singer as the "passenger" safely viewing the "city's ripped backsides," protected as "he sees things from under glass," cruising the streets, taking in the sights. There is a sense of decadence as Pop delivers the lines in a relaxed, almost baritone croon while he invites listeners into his late-night world: "Get into the car/We'll be the passenger/We'll see the stars that shine so bright/Stars made for us tonight/And everything is made for you and me/'Cause it just belongs to you and me/So let's take a ride and see what's mine." This is the artists' domain, where they are most comfortable, where they live and work, while most of the world sleeps. "The Passenger" seems to personify the rather romantic and popular image of two musicians escaping to a foreign land, feeding one another inspiration, creating some of their best work while unable to fully pull themselves away from the rock & roll world that is a part of them. Several attempts to cover the song by the likes of Siouxsie & the Banshees and Bauhaus proved unable to quite capture the spirit of the original.

 
Thanks for that. Fascinating.


I love Iggy and Bowie.


{#Cheers}  



 ppopp wrote:
Poor Iggy. He has lots of fine tunes, but all we ever hear on the radio is The Passenger and Lust For Life.

 
Actually, not so many, in my opinion, and those two are really best choice, at least I never tire of them ;) {#Bananajam}
 ppopp wrote:
Poor Iggy. He has lots of fine tunes, but all we ever hear on the radio is The Passenger and Lust For Life.

 

Es verdad
Poor Iggy. He has lots of fine tunes, but all we ever hear on the radio is The Passenger and Lust For Life.
Cool review on AMG: "The Passenger" first rode into view on Iggy Pop's third solo effort, Lust for Life, the follow-up album coming quickly on the heels of his first real musical collaboration with David Bowie, The Idiot LP released earlier that same year. "The Passenger" is a voyeuristic homage to the nocturnal wanderings of life lived after hours. Many of the tracks on Lust for Life are co-written with Bowie, but the music on "The Passenger" was provided by session guitarist Rick Gardiner. The tune is based on a laid-back four-chord progression, where the end of each chord is clipped, giving buoyancy to the mid-tempo rhythm. Seriously rock-solid support from brothers Tony and Hunt Sales on bass and drums nails down a springy groove. "The Passenger" was written during a self-imposed "exile" in Berlin, Germany, where Pop and Bowie undertook to distance themselves from their drug connections, a move they later admitted was only moderately successful, as they could not resist the hedonistic nightlife the city had to offer. The lyrics, written around this time, make it easy to imagine the singer as the "passenger" safely viewing the "city's ripped backsides," protected as "he sees things from under glass," cruising the streets, taking in the sights. There is a sense of decadence as Pop delivers the lines in a relaxed, almost baritone croon while he invites listeners into his late-night world: "Get into the car/We'll be the passenger/We'll see the stars that shine so bright/Stars made for us tonight/And everything is made for you and me/'Cause it just belongs to you and me/So let's take a ride and see what's mine." This is the artists' domain, where they are most comfortable, where they live and work, while most of the world sleeps. "The Passenger" seems to personify the rather romantic and popular image of two musicians escaping to a foreign land, feeding one another inspiration, creating some of their best work while unable to fully pull themselves away from the rock & roll world that is a part of them. Several attempts to cover the song by the likes of Siouxsie & the Banshees and Bauhaus proved unable to quite capture the spirit of the original.
I have a great shot of Iggy with Mrs Poacher in Miami giving her a hug (or at least that is what she said he was doing). She was on a photographic shoot and he just happened to roll up in a pink caddy convertible to take in the beach. She struck up a conversation and apparently he was lovely and charming and happy to take a photo.

Say what you like about his music, the man is an icon and has, for his part, changed the face of music over his life. He should be given a whole lot more credit than he does in my opinion. 
 RedTopFireBelow wrote:
Oh please.. make it STOP!    This surely is one of the most annoying songs ever sung....   {#Stop}

 
Noooooo! This is fabulous. Please keep it on, RP, and RTFB, you can just turn down the sound, OK? ... Like I do when anything by Natalie Marchant comes on. 
I was in Kohl's shopping for bras today (what?) and I heard this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APT5Allol04

It was weird.
Proof that there are limitless ways of re-imagining songs about trains.
 RedTopFireBelow wrote:
Oh please.. make it STOP!    This surely is one of the most annoying songs ever sung....   {#Stop}

 

True dat.{#Yes}




Even The Igster wore a tie at one point!  


One could be forgiven for thinking this was the only song Iggy ever released.
Sir Igford of Pop!

Every time I hear that opening riff and then that bell, I know I'm in for a good few minutes.  Thanks Ig!

 semaca wrote:
Aaaah, should be "Sir" Iggy Pop.

 
Yas, His Excellency. He's great in Jim Jarmusch's movie/s too.
Aaaah, should be "Sir" Iggy Pop.
9
 Biscobret wrote:
Classic for sure.  Just shy of a "10".

(anyone a fan of Sons of Anarchy?  this song will always remind me now of the collage of scenes ending with Gemma's car crash.  Anyone?) 
 
Great show, great song. I remember that scene well, and thought 'they've done a really good job of making me totally disliking a character that I used to adore.'
Oh please.. make it STOP!    This surely is one of the most annoying songs ever sung....   {#Stop}
 Boy_Wonder wrote:
Only four Iggy songs in the RP playlist and NO Stooges - shurley shume mishtake!
 
I too could never figure out the lack of "Stooges" on RP. Except, maybe, the music has so much sexy grind.
Classic for sure.  Just shy of a "10".

(anyone a fan of Sons of Anarchy?  this song will always remind me now of the collage of scenes ending with Gemma's car crash.  Anyone?) 
Its workin !
Only four Iggy songs in the RP playlist and NO Stooges - shurley shume mishtake!
For some reason I'm craving a rum & coke...
 BibKiller wrote:
best song youve played yet! we listen to you while working in a bicycle shop, co workers request more punk and or metal! i e slayer
 
I read that as '...more pink or metal...' which is an interesting idea.
 cShaggy wrote:
..gimme Siouxsie's version, but i won't argue w/Iggy (might get me kilt)..
 
I like her version too but you have to respect the original.
best song youve played yet! we listen to you while working in a bicycle shop, co workers request more punk and or metal! i e slayer
 treatment_bound wrote:

Can't we get some more songs from The Igster up and going here at RP as a little belated birthday present?  How about "I'm Bored" or "Five Foot One"...a couple of fun, sarcastic early 80's ditties?
 


Agree...more Iggy please...Five Foot One would be great...hell, some Stooges would be cool too...
I didn't listen to IP when he was hot, but this cut shows why. Gave it a 7
..gimme Siouxsie's version, but i won't argue w/Iggy (might get me kilt)..

IGGY IS STILL RIDING!

He and Keef will be the last rats to survive!

GORGEOUS!


In Search of the Lost chorus? He can do lots better but this is the nadir of musicality
{#Dance}
 maxmox wrote:
Happy Birthday Iggy!
 
Can't we get some more songs from The Igster up and going here at RP as a little belated birthday present?  How about "I'm Bored" or "Five Foot One"...a couple of fun, sarcastic early 80's ditties?
 HIGGS_BOSON wrote:
Bill - remove this from your play list, it sucks
 
Bill - remove this from your play list, it sucks
 
AHA! there you are! We've been looking everywhere for you!
Love it!
 onelittlemoose wrote:
I don't mind his music, but he could really put a shirt on. Yes, I'm a prude. 
 
You're lucky he's got his pants on!   {#Bounce}
great song...

la la la la lalala la...

{#Dancingbanana}
Love Iggy and this song...
i like iggy       {#Wink}