Good morning! We’re a month into introducing the songs on Remote Control well on the way! This week’s tune …And Ride Away dates back to the late spring of 1990. Janne still has the guitar tabs he penned of the riffs he provided for the song. see the photo below. He was 14. Pretty cool, huh?

At the time, we were rehearsing at Tunturila, a local youth centre. (Ten years before, yours truly went to kindergarten there.) The room was a bomb shelter, lots of room and privacy there for us to make some noise.

I remember a couple of things about writing …And Ride Away: I came up with the intro riff, and then I had hard time learning to play the fast parts Janne wrote. However, my most vivid memories about this track are the original chorus lyrics written on the wall in our school.

In the end of May 1990, Mika, who wrote the original lyrics, added the chorus part in a school art project. His tenth-grade class was celebrating the end of their last school year with an art exhibition of sorts. Mika wrote the original …and Ride Away chorus about how he felt about leaving the school and his class.

”It was a message from us to those who still stayed there when we left”, Mika says. ”It felt like were moving on in life, towards our dreams.”

I could relate. I left the same school that spring, too.

The four of us put the tune together at Tunturila. No-one remembers who wrote the rest of the riffs, but as usual, the song was long as hell. Like ten minutes long. 08:37, to be exact. I don’t even know how that was possible. On June 13th 1990, we recorded it on our 4-track demo. We probably played the song live as well, on the two (last) gigs we had that summer.

Fast forward more than 18 years: We almost lost …And Ride Away after the 2008 demo sessions. For some reason it wasn’t included on the cdr we burned of the new, instrumental versions Janne and I made. Move on another ten years: Luckily, Janne found the track in his archives. I didn’t even remember we had re-arranged it, but there it was, three minutes shorter and a lot leaner, much meaner and so much tighter! Oh, happy day!

Kristian basically re-created the whole vocal part with his lyrics and melodies, using an amazing style range, all the way from Painkiller-ish screeching to more trad. singing.

Says Kristian: ”It’s song about leaving, going away, getting on the road, freeing oneself from the powers that be, heading towards freedom.”

…AND RIDE AWAY

In the darkest night we stood and waited too long

Silent wind blew on the streets and called to come on

All we had was nothing and it seemed to be wrong

You came to me and together we started to run

Can you feel the thunder rising over yonder?

Right now, make me wonder, never torn asunder

Ride away! Come with me!

Ride away! Let’s ride away!

Shifting gear and burning wheel, we accelerate

With no fear in curve we steer and defy the fate

City lights are left behind when highway is hot

After all we must go on and will never stop

Can you feel the thunder rising over yonder?

Right now, make me wonder, never going under

Ride away! Come with me!

Ride away! Let’s ride away!

Come fly away with me

Against the wind we flee

Let’s ride away, ride away to freedom

Come fly away with me

And taste what life could be

Let’s ride away, ride away to freedom

Hear the sirens closing in we gotta speed on

Let them bite the dust and we rule another round

Faster, faster, bring disaster, there we belong

Obey no master, engine blaster, scream as we come

Can you feel the thunder rising over yonder?

Right now, make me wonder, never torn asunder

Ride away! Come with me!

Ride away! Let’s ride away!

Rise up! Speed on! Stand tall and take my hand

Rise up! Speed on! Ride away from their command

Come fly away with me

Against the wind we flee

Let’s ride away, ride away to freedom

Come fly away with me

And taste what life could be

Let’s ride away, ride away to freedom