If you’ve ever spent a late night listening to 1960s folk radio, you’ve heard it. That jaunty, almost nursery-rhyme-like guitar pluck and a voice that sounds like it’s smiling through the microphone. Arlo Guthrie’s The Motorcycle Song is one of those tracks that feels like a shared secret between generations. It’s goofy. It’s light. On the surface, it’s just a song about a guy who really, really likes his "motorsickle."
But honestly? Most people miss the point.
They hear the "I don't want a pickle" line and assume it's just a bit of hippie nonsense. They think Arlo was just high or trying to find a rhyme for "motorcycle." While the rhyme is objectively terrible (which is why it’s great), the history behind the song is a lot more layered. It’s about freedom, the Vietnam draft, and a very real, very terrifying cliff in Western Massachusetts.
The Origin of the "Motorsickle"
First off, let's talk about the title. You’ll often see it listed on live albums as Motorcycle (Significance of the Pickle) Song. It first appeared on his 1967 debut album, Alice’s Restaurant. Most people bought that record for the eighteen-minute title track, but they stayed for the weirdness of the motorcycle tune.
The song wasn't just a studio creation. It was a staple of Arlo’s live sets at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village. If you listen to the 1968 live version, it’s twice as long as the studio cut. Why? Because Arlo couldn't help himself. He had to tell the story.
The story goes that Arlo was riding his motorcycle—an actual, physical machine—down a mountain. He wasn't just cruising. He was, by his own admission, going way too fast. In the middle of the song’s famous live monologue, he describes the moment he realized he was going to fly off a cliff.
He didn't panic. Instead, he decided to write a song on the way down.
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"I was coming down this mountain at about a hundred and fifty miles an hour... and I realized I was going to go off the cliff. So I figured, if I'm gonna die, I might as well leave something behind."
That is classic Guthrie. It's the "tall tale" tradition of American folk music, inherited directly from his father, Woody Guthrie. It’s exaggeration used to highlight a deeper truth.
Why the Pickle Matters
"I don't want a pickle / I just want to ride on my motorsickle."
It sounds like a throwaway line. But for a kid in 1967, that line carried a surprising amount of weight. To understand why, you have to look at the other line in the chorus: "And I don't want to die / Just want to ride on my motor-cy... cle."
In 1967, young men were being sent to Vietnam at an alarming rate. The "pickle" and the "tickle" represent the trivialities of a society that was trying to distract people from the fact that they were being drafted. Arlo’s plea wasn’t just about a bike. It was about the right to exist outside of a government-mandated war.
It was a song of evasion.
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The motorcycle became a symbol of the counter-culture’s desire to simply exit the system. Unlike the "outlaw" biker image of the 1950s (think Marlon Brando in The Wild One), Arlo’s biker was a "freaky folk singer." He wasn't looking for a fight; he was looking for a way to stay alive.
The Real Incident Behind the Fiction
Despite the wild stories about flying off cliffs and landing on police cars, Arlo has often hinted that the song is based on a "true incident" of stupidity. He has referred to it as an "anti-stupidity" song.
In one version of the story, the "pickle" refers to a literal encounter with a police officer. In the tall-tale version, a cop shoots a hole through a pickle and stuffs a ticket inside it before forcing Arlo to eat it. Obviously, that didn't happen. But the feeling of being harassed by "the man" for just wanting to be left alone? That was very real.
Musical Structure and the "Lame" Rhyme
Musically, the song is a standard folk-blues progression. It’s simple. Anyone with three chords and a decent sense of rhythm can play it. But the magic is in the prosody.
Arlo intentionally mispronounces "motorcycle" as "motorsickle" to force the rhyme. It’s a trick used by humorists to signal to the audience that they shouldn't take the song too seriously. It breaks the "fourth wall" of folk music.
- The Studio Version (1967): Short, tight, and focused on the melody.
- The Live Version (1968/1970s): This is where the song became a legend. The monologue about the cliff and the police car usually takes up 70% of the runtime.
- The 50th Anniversary Version: Arlo was still playing this well into the 2010s, often laughing at his own younger self for writing something so ridiculous.
Impact on Motorcycle Culture
Interestingly, the song has a weirdly strong following among actual motorcyclists. You wouldn't think a bunch of Harley riders would love a song by a skinny hippie about not wanting a pickle, but they do.
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Why? Because it captures the sensory joy of riding.
When you’re on a bike, the world stops being a series of chores and becomes a singular experience of "just riding." Arlo captures that perfectly. He doesn't want the stuff (the pickle). He doesn't want the attention (the tickle). He just wants the movement.
It’s the ultimate "mindfulness" song, decades before that was a buzzword.
What Happened to Arlo’s Bike?
People often ask what kind of bike Arlo was riding. In the song, he doesn't specify. In real life, Arlo has been seen with various machines over the years, including Triumphs and BMWs.
The bike in the song is less of a mechanical object and more of a vessel for escape. It represents the ability to turn a corner and leave the "straight-laced" world behind.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Musicians
If you’re looking to dive deeper into Arlo Guthrie’s The Motorcycle Song, here is how to actually appreciate it in 2026:
- Listen to the "Arlo" (1968) Live Version First: The studio version is fine, but the live version is where the "Significance of the Pickle" monologue lives. You can't understand the song without the story.
- Learn the "Fingerstyle" Pattern: If you’re a guitar player, don’t just strum it. Arlo uses a distinct alternating bass pattern (Travis picking) that gives the song its "rolling" feel.
- Read Between the Lines: Pay attention to the line "I don't want to die." In the context of the 1960s draft, that wasn't a joke. It was a protest.
- Watch the 50th Anniversary Tour Footage: Seeing an older Arlo revisit this song shows how his relationship with his own legacy evolved. He went from a kid trying to be funny to an elder statesman of folk who realized that "being funny" was a legitimate way to change the world.
The song remains a masterpiece of the "shaggy dog" story. It’s a reminder that even when the world is heavy—even when there’s a draft and a war and a cliff right in front of you—you can still find something that rhymes with motorcycle. Sorta.