Courtney Taylor-Taylor, the Dandy Warhol's guitarist and principal songwriter, was at his apartment window watching traffic pull up at the lights below.

"An early Eighties BMW 320i stops there with an amazing looking young woman behind the wheel," he says. "Her elbow was hangin' out the window at a jaunty angle and her roots were showing. She had a cool tattoo and her face was exquisite."

As the lights changed and she pulled away, Taylor-Taylor reached for his guitar and began spontaneously strumming the chords to a new song, "Bohemian Like You", inspired by his fleeting vision of loveliness.

With no idea who she was, and knowing nothing else about her, he began to fantasise about what a relationship would be like with the car girl, who by now had evaporated in the evening rush. His composition took the shape of a one-sided conversation.

"My silly little brain ran amok with the dream of love and vintage motor malfunctions," he says. "It was only natural to weave it into a song on the spot. I was overwhelmed, ya know?"

"Bohemian Like You" was recorded at a warehouse in downtown Portland, Oregon, one of a clutch of new numbers for the bands new album 'Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia'. 

An obvious single, it failed to make the Top 40 until it was re-issued in 2001, following its use in a mobile phone advert.

And the car girl?

"Sadly I never saw her again, although I asked around a lot with my German-car buddies," says Taylor-Taylor. "One dude told me she was a pastry chef. Needless to say I ate a lot of pastries that week."

Comments:

angelwyman7320

This song is the cure for Depression for me. Everytime i'm feel down, i go on a drive and blast this tune! Impossible not to sing along or feel happier after listening to this masterpiece!

btsdrummer1

Played this song for years in a cover band. The dance floor was instantly packed, every time we played it. Cool tune.

jackblanchard4479

Another year and this song is still a banger

arrowen39

This song is timeless, it’s one of those tunes you instantly love upon first hearing it. If this song were brand new today it would still score in the top ten.  when this song came out not many people had cell phones.. the iPod didn’t exist yet.

redpillnibbler4423

It’s impossible to listen to this and not get your groove on ????

garysmith1859

This song never fails to put a smile on my face ????

rubensanchezvilla66

Still top 5 of my favorite songs all the time.

martinfiay8908

one of the greatest songs ever made !!!!

Direwolf2k20

I remember banging this out on my brand new CD player my parents got me for my 12th birthday. And even in 2022, its still a banger!!!!

HaushinkaWasHere

I have had it played over and over again for two days now. This one has really got stuck, I simply love EVERY SINGLE BIT of it!

gel6988

Just a freaking great song.  I hear some of the Stones, a little blues and a whole lotta the Dandy Warhols!  Thank you for posting...

mizpappas

I'm still in love with this album. It sounds as good as when it first came out.

joannaricardo7853

Oh my gosh!!! I freaking love this song! We country cruised to this gem back in 2003 lol. I really miss this awesome creativity in music. That and the original band instruments! Never thought we'd ever leave that foundation for music one day!!!

StzaJack

One of the most banging tunes to ever exist. I remember dancing round my kitchen with my mum to this when I was younger, singing to this.

leonort90

im so glad my mom showed me this song❤

dewayn

ive worked at a junkyard my whole life.  One day i found this disc marked "driving songs" in a junk car . i took it home, popped it into the cd player of my 1976 911 i had cobbled together.   Took off into a place with windy roads called the heights. this song came on. unreal.

murphsviews

Love it. Used to love rocking it at karaoke, excellent mood-lifter/party-starter!

ZoeJoycex

Haven’t heard this in years, such a tune ????????

richarde1355

The guitars are so, so Rolling Stone’ish...The first time I heard this was in a bar in Revelstoke, British Columbia, and I immediately had to ask the bartender about this song. It is just a cool, cool song...

aoibhinnmcgowan7439

So glad my dad introduced me to this kinda of music growing up - I love it so much

kolonizatorUK

Such a great, optimistic song!!! It gives me fine mood for a day. Thank you- The Dandy Warhols crew :-