Motor Car Madness

Motor Car Madness - Alan Wakeman

“The city multiplies man’s power to think, to educate, to communicate.”
Lewis Mumford 1895-1990
But most modern cities have surrendered to the car so it’s worth
remembering that he also said: “Forget the damned motor car
and build cities for lovers and friends.”

Motor Car Madness

This 8-minute film about the destructive effect of cars on cities was devised, written and produced in 1969/70 by Alan Wakeman (who also wrote the lyrics) and directed by William Wilson. Click the link to view it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXfsmWRZGhY

Motor Car Madness

Lyrics from the film Motor Car Madness

I’ve travelled the world
and everywhere it’s the same:
it’s the motor car madness
is driving the people insane.

Have people forgotten
that cities were meant for them?
Have people forgotten
that cities were meant for living in?

It’s the motor car madness
is driving the people insane.
It’s the motor car sadness,
the motor car.

I was once a happy human,
used to love that city heat.
Now I’m just a traffic nuisance,
made to cross beneath the street while…

there’s my brother,
my wonderful warm, car-clad brother
at fifty miles an hour,
well-protected, unaffected, fuel-injected.
It’s all right for him.

It’s the motor car madness
is driving the people insane.
It’s the motor car sadness,
the motor car.

A pedestrian is a woman,
made to stand in the rain.
A pedestrian is a man,
made to suffer traffic pain.

A pedestrian is a woman,
driven under the ground.
A pedestrian is a man,
made to walk the long way round.