Well, you heard the story of the hot rod race that fatal day
When a Ford and a Mercury went out to play
Well, this is the inside story, and I'm here to say
I was the kid that was driving that Model A
It's got a Lincoln motor, and it's really souped up
And that Model A body makes it look like a pup
It's got 12 cylinders, uses them all
With an overdrive that just won't stall
It's got a 4-barrel carb and a dual exhaust
4–11, gears, you can really get lost
It's got safety tubes, and I'm not scared
The brakes are good, and the tires are fair
We left San Pedro late one night
The Moon and the stars was shining bright
Everything went fine up the Grapevine Hill
We was passing cars like they was standing still
And all of a sudden like a flick of an eye
A Cadillac sedan had passed us by
The remark was made, there's the car for me
But by then the taillight were all you could see
Now the fellas ribbed me for being behind
So I started to make that Lincoln unwind
I took my foot off the gas and man alive
I shoved it down into overdrive
Well, I wound it up to a 110
Twisted the speedometer cable off the end
I had my foot feed clear to the floor
Said that's all there is, and there ain't no more
Went around a corner and I passed a truck
I whispered a prayer just for luck
Fenders was clicking the guardrail posts
The guys beside me were white as a ghost
I guess they'd thought I'd lost my sense
The telephone poles looked like a picket fence
They said: Slow down, I see spots
The lines on the road just look like dots
Smoke was rolling out in the back
When I started gaining on that Cadillac
I knew I could catch him, and hoped I could pass
But when I did, I'd be short on gas
Went around a corner with the tires in the side
You could feel the tension, man, what a ride
I said: Hold on, I've got a license to fly
And a Cadillac pulled over and let me go by
And all of a sudden, a rod started knocking
When down in the dips, and she started to rocking
I look in my mirror, and a red light was blinking
Cops was after my Hot Rod Lincoln
Well, they arrested me and put me in jail
And called my pop to throw my bail
He said: Son, you're gonna drive me to drinking
If you don't quit driving that Hot Rod Lincoln "