Lord, Mr. Ford

This song, a huge No. 1 hit for Jerry Reed in 1973, was written to get revenge on a certain motor company. Dick Feller’s car, made by that company, developed several problems. The back seat arm rest fell off, the air conditioner and cigarette lighter both stopped working the same day, the power steering fell out on the street, and, whenever, the car sat in the sun, the horn would start to honk.

Dick Feller himself says: "The nice part about it is that writing about that car made enough money to buy another car! Don'tcha love this country?"

A rumor said that a country music station in Detroit had got some protest on cause of "Lord, Mr. Ford". Rumor says that someone from the Ford office called them saying they would appreciate it if the station played that song a little less often, if at all! Any reason for the request was never heard.

"Lord, Mr. Ford" might be the Dick Feller song that has been translated into most languages. The Norwegian entertainer Øystein Sunde wrote and recorded a Norwegian version of it (with Norwegian words: "Hei, Henry Ford") in 1975, and his song played a lot on the radio in Norway. In Czech Republic the same song was known as "Pivní dzíp", translated and recorded by Jan Vycítal. In Holland it was recorded with Dutch lyric by Henk Wijngaard.

Lyric:
Now I'm not a man to point or judge
To bear ill-will or hold a grudge
But I think it's time I said a few choice words
About that demon, the automobile
The metal monster with the polyglass wheels
The end result of a dream of Henry Ford
Sure I've got a car that's mine alone
That me and the finance company own
A ready made pile of manufactured grief
If I'm not outa gas in the pourin' rain
I'm changin' a flat in a hurricane
And I once spent a weekend lost on a cloverleaf

It's not just the smoke or the traffic jam
That makes me the bitter fool I am
But that four-wheeled buggy is a-dollarin' me to death
For gas and oil, fluids and grease
Wires and tires and anti-freeze
And then them excessories ...
Well, that' s something else
You can get stereo tape and a color TV
Backseat bar and reclining seats
On top of those "Easy Monthly Payments!"
I figure that over a period of time
This twenty-thousand dollar car of mine
Cost' ninety-seven-thousand dollars and 48 cents!

Chorus:
Well, Lord, Mr. Ford, I just wish that you could see
What your simple horse-less carriage has become
It seems your contribution to man
To say the least, got outa hand ...
Lord, Mr. Ford, what have you done?

Now the average American father and mother
Own one whole car and half another
And I'll bet that "half a-car" is a trick to drive!
But the thing that amazes me I guess
Is the way we measure a man's success
By the kind of automobile that he can buy
Well, it's red light, green light, traffic cop
Right turn, no turn, must turn, stop ..
Get out the credit card it's time for gas
All the cars of the world placed end to end
Would reach to the moon and back again
And there'd probably be some fool pull out to pass

Half Chorus:
Lord, Mr. Ford, I just wish that you could see
What your simple horse-less carriage has become ..

Oh, how I long for the good ol' days 
Without that carbon monoxide haze
A-hangin' over that roar on the interstates
If the One who made the moon and stars
Woulda meant for me and you to have cars
He'd a-seen that we was born with a parkin' space!

Last Chorus:
Lord, Mr. Ford, I just wish that you could see
What your simple horse-less carriage has become
This world was once a garden spot
But now it's one big parkin' lot
Lord, Mr. Ford, what have you done?

Tag:
Come away with me, Lucille
In my smokin', chokin' automobile!

Words and music: Dick Feller  © Sixteen Stars Music/Vector Music/Horipro Music