Download Instrumental   The first sound you hear in this tune is a “recorder”.  As far as I know, this is the first rock song to feature this flute-like instrument.  It introduces the first four bars of “Hitchin’ a Ride” and then pops in and out throughout the whole piece.  I think it sets the proper mood for a guy who’s setting out on the road with no money – hitch hiking his way home to his “baby”.  The lyrics say it all:  “A thumb goes up, a car goes by/it’s nearly one A.M. and here am I/ hitchin’ a ride”.  What fun… right?

We used to do a dance called the “hitch hike” – inspired by the song of the same name by Marvin Gaye.  You extended your thumbs and skated across the floor like a drunken hippo.  If you’ve ever seen a hippo on skates, you know what I mean.  Anyway, it was a really dumb dance but oh, so popular… for awhile.  I was pretty glad when it went away about a year after Gaye released the song, but then the dance came back with a vengeance when a British group called Vanity Fare had a hit with “Hitchin’ a Ride” in 1969.  It was one of those things that just wouldn’t go away…. much like Hip-Hop.

I took some liberties with the original arrangement – adding more piano and a little brass – just to make it slightly more palatable to today’s audience.  However, if you’ve always liked this song,  I’m about to ruin it forever for you.  While working through the instrumentation, I realized that this could be a (groan) polka.  I’m sorry, but if you listen to it with that rhythm in mind  – it works.  Soooo… if you get a request for (groan again) a polka, maybe you can trot this out there just for fun.  It beats “Beer Barrel” every time.