Rides & Drives
  • Home
  • Road Trips
  • Driven
  • Videos
  • Behind the wheel with
  • Diversions
  • Weekend Drives
  • The Good Stuff
  • News
Operation Frodo: How A Mission To Save One...
Operation Frodo: A Mission For Dogs
Road trip: Michigan to Alaska and Back Airstream-style
America Unchained: Crossing The Country on a BMW...
Road Trip: On the Tamiami Trail of Bob...

Rides & Drives

Banner
  • Home
  • Road Trips
  • Driven
  • Videos
  • Behind the wheel with
  • Diversions
  • Weekend Drives
  • The Good Stuff
  • News
Diversions

Thursday CarTune: Vincent Black Lightning by Richard Thompson

written by Harvey Briggs April 6, 2017

The Song
Very few songwriters can spin a tale like Richard Thompson. Fewer still can do it while playing the guitar as he does. His song, Vincent Black Lightning, epitomizes that. And it also happens to be about one of the most interesting and exotic bikes ever made.

The story of a British rogue and his girlfriend, this isn’t as literary as it is cinematic, each stanza setting the scene for a beautiful film; that one hasn’t been made about James and Red Molly is still a mystery to me. The story is set when Red Molly finally works up the courage to speak to James. You can almost picture them on a gritty neighborhood street in South London.

Said Red Molly to James that’s a fine motorbike
A girl could feel special on any such like
Said James to Red Molly, well my hat’s off to you
It’s a Vincent Black Lightning, 1952
And I’ve seen you at the corners and cafes it seems
Red hair and black leather, my favorite color scheme
And he pulled her on behind
And down to Box Hill they did ride

The Artist
Born in 1949, Richard Thompson grew up in a musical household and began playing guitar at a very early age. His influences were varied from traditional Scottish folk and Jazz, to blues and rock and roll. One of the early members of the folk group, Fairport Convention, Thompson’s virtuoso guitar playing was one of the key reasons the band got signed, according to producer, Joe Boyd, “And there was this group of very nice Muswell Hill grammar school boys and a girl playing American music. Leonard Cohen songs, and Richard Fariña songs, and Bob Dylan songs, all being done in a kind of West-Coasty rock style. And then came the guitar solo, and Richard just played the most amazing solo. He played a solo with quotes from Django, from Charlie Christian, you know, an incredibly sophisticated little solo. And that really amazed me, the breadth of his sophistication… and so, you know, at the end of the gig I was in the dressing room saying ‘would you guys like to make a record?'”

Thompson started writing songs for the band and it wasn’t long after that in 1971 that he left Fairport Convention and began a personal and professional relationship with Linda Peters, soon to become his wife. They wrote and performed together through the 1970s acquiring a bit of fame, but it wasn’t until the mid-1980s that Thompson’s popularity outside of folk aficionados and music industry insiders grew significantly. Recorded for his 1991 album “Rumor and Sigh,” Vincent Black Lightning is the most popular song in his catalogue though if you haven’t spent time listening to his others, you should. Thompson is one of the great treasures of British music and as such was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2011.

The Bike
Arguably the first superbike, the 998cc Vincent Black Lightning was introduced in 1948 and was basically race-ready right off the factory line. It featured magnesium components, racing tires on lightweight rims, and foot controls that were set back forcing the rider to lean forward in a racier position. The overhead-valve engine was tuned with racing cams, larger air intakes, special carburetors, and a host of other upgrades to increase the engine’s performance and reliability. Making a whopping (at the time) 70 hp, the bike was capable of top speeds over 150 miles per hour and a supercharged Black Lightning set the land speed record a Bonneville of 156.58 mph in 1950. In production for just four years, only 31 Black Lightnings were produced before the company’s financial problems forced cutbacks. Vincent finally shuttered their doors for good in 1959, but thanks to Richard Thompson and some dedicated owners, the legend lives on.

Says James, in my opinion, there’s nothing in this world
Beats a ’52 Vincent and a red headed girl
Now Triumphs and Nortons and Beezers won’t do
They don’t have a soul like a Vincent ’52
He reached for her hand and he slipped her the keys
He said I’ve got no further use for these
I see angels on Ariels in leather and chrome
Swooping down from heaven to carry me home
And he gave her one last kiss and died
And he gave her his Vincent to ride

Thursday CarTune: Vincent Black Lightning by Richard Thompson was last modified: December 15th, 2019 by Harvey Briggs

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Related

Richard ThompsonVincent Black LightningVincent Motorcycles
0 comment
0
Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Harvey Briggs

Harvey Briggs is the Founder, Editor, and Publisher of Rides & Drives. He has also written for Car and Driver, Winding Road, and the luxury lifestyle blog, Pursuitist.com. His passions run from fast cars, small planes, boats and motorcycles to music, travel, and sports. When he's not on the road testing the latest cars, he been known to turn up on stage playing rock and blues guitar at clubs around his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. Follow Harvey's adventures on Instagram and Twitter @harvey_drives and find him on Facebook. Though keeping up could be a problem. As Harvey says, "If I don't slow down, time can't catch me."

previous post
Ridden: 2017 Indian Chieftain Elite – An American Original
next post
Monday Musings: Are Auto Shows Irrelevant?

You may also like

Thursday CarTune: Roxy Music And Toyota Share Their Visions of Avalon

May 17, 2018

Thursday CarTunes: Marc Cohn, Silver Thunderbird

November 16, 2017

Thursday CarTune: Two Dope Boys (In a Cadillac) by Outkast

May 4, 2017

Thursday CarTunes: Suzanne/Chevy Vega

July 27, 2017

Thursday Car Tunes: El Camino by Ween

April 13, 2017

Thursday CarTune: Camaro by Kings of Leon

June 1, 2017

Rare Beauty: The One-of-a-Kind 1938 Hispano-Suiza H6B Dubonnet Xenia

October 7, 2022

Thursday Car Tunes: Autobahn and the Bentley Continental GT

August 31, 2017

Thursday CarTune: Angela by The Lumineers

July 20, 2017

Thursday CarTunes: Cake and the Chrysler LeBaron

September 21, 2017

Newsletter

Popular Posts

  • Behind The Wheel With: Matthew McConaughey

  • Driven: 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Platinum, A Big Step Up

  • Behind the Wheel With: Dave Kindig of Kindig-It Designs

  • An Excerpt from ‘Burning Bright,’ A Novel by Nick Petrie

  • Road Trip: Lexus LC500, The Flyin’ Hawaiian

  • Old Car Friday: Monty’s Rolls-Royce Phantom

Let’s Travel Back

  • April 2025
  • February 2025
  • December 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • February 2015
  • December 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • February 2014
  • November 2013

Tweets

Missing consumer key - please check your settings in admin > Settings > Twitter Feed Auth
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube

@2016 - Rides & Drives, LLC. All Right Reserved.


Back To Top
 

Loading Comments...