Music Review: Sheryl Crow "Steve McQueen"

Sheryl Crow

Steve McQueen
Album: C'Mon C'Mon
Year: 2002

Sheryl Crow lives a rootless existence in the mellow "Steve McQueen."

Swaggering guitars open the single, setting a spur-of-the-moment tone. In the first verse, she says that she slept in a hotel bed in Memphis, Tennesse. Then, she drove all day and began her day in Hollywood. She's thinks of calling her boyfriend on a payphone but changes her mind. She wants to be free from responsibility for a while. She's going to go to some clubs and dance on the top of famous bars she read about in Us Weekly. She wants her boyfriend to be in awe of her when she describes her travels. However, it's time for her to drive to another city.
"Well I went to bed in Memphis/And I woke up in Hollywood/I got a quarterIn my pocket/And I'd call you if I could/But I don't know why/
I gotta fly/I wanna rock and roll this party/I still wanna have some fun/I wanna leave you feeling breathless/
Show you how the west was won/But I gotta fly/I gotta fly."


In the chorus, she says a souped up convertible is enough to make her happy in life. Once people think they have her figured out, she's off on another adventure.
"Like Steve McQueen/All I need's a fast machine/I'm gonna make it all right/Like Steve McQueen/Underneath your radar screen/You'll never catch me tonight."


In the second verse, she says she's not the shy pushover she once was. She's assertive and anti-establishment. She's heading to wherever life takes her. It's something her friends and family knew was coming. It's something she has to do.
"Oh I ain't takin' shit off no one/Baby that was yesterday/I'm an all American rebel/Making my big getaway/Yeah you know it's time/I gotta fly."


The chorus is sung again. With muffled vocals, she sings "like Steve McQueen, like Steve McQueen." It segues into the bridge.

In the bridge, she says that President George W. Bush is more of a celebrity than a leader. The young women on MTV are scantily clad or catering to males by wearing outfits (like Britney Spears' Catholic schoolgirl uniform.) She comments that the role models she looked up to had enough of the current Hollywood scene. They are scattered all over the place and escaped the shallowness of society.
"We got rock stars in the White House/All our pop stars look like porn/All my heroes hit the highway/They don't hang out here no more."


In the third verse, she says she can be reached on her cellphone or pager. However, she doesn't have any intention of returning their calls. She wants to live on the road for a while.
"You can tell me on my cellphone/You can page me all night long/But you won't catch this freebird/I'll already be long gone."


In the second verse, she makes it plural. Next time, she's including her boyfriend on her road trip around the United States. It's sung twice to end the single.
"Like Steve McQueen/All we need's a fast machine/And we're gonna make it all right/Like Steve McQueen/Underneath the radar screen/They'll never catch us tonight....."


It's Steve McQueen she's aspiring to be in the single. It's Sal Paradise. While driving through America, she's searching. She's likely looking for herself. She's also looking for substance in American culture. It's important to note that she mentions Hollywood. She wants to find out why Hollywood is appealing to many other people in the United States. In reality, it's a downtrodden city with manufactured glamour.

If it weren't for her hypocrisy, her rant against Hollywood would have merit. In the song, she slams other young female singers for taking off their clothes. However, while doing promotion for C'Mon C'Mon she appeared in Maxim.

She's also disappointed in the United States' foreign policy and president. She wants a government where she feels heard. Her political concerns do not overshadow the entire single. Its brief and to the point.

"Steve McQueen" is a breezy but flawed single.




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