Modern Lovers' 'Roadrunner' Could Be The Official Song Of MA

The baked bean. The black-capped chickadee. Cod. We've got state foods, birds, a flower, a folk song and a polka. But we apparently have no official rock song yet.

Representative David Linsky, D-Natick, co-sponsored a bill with Representative Denise Provost, D-Somerville, to make "Roadrunner" the state's official song. The song was recorded by Boston's Modern Lovers, led by Natick native Jonathan Richman.

The House approved the measure by unanimous consent during an information session on Thursday, after it was favorably received by the Joint Committee on State Administration and Oversight. The current bill was was proposed in January of 2017.

The rocking bill is sitting in for a jam at the House Committee on Bills currently waiting for a third reading before it heads to the House floor for final approval, then off to senate before hitting the governor's desk.

“This legislation would designate ‘Roadrunner,’ the lead single on The Modern Lovers’ self-titled 1976 debut album, as the official rock song of the Commonwealth,” Linsky told Patch. “The lyrics of the song take the listener on a late night car ride down Massachusetts Route 128, passing several Bay State landmarks. ‘Roadrunner’ combines the liberation of youth on the open road with the sights and sounds of our beloved Commonwealth.”

The official text of the bill: Chapter 2 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-Section 61. The song, “Roadrunner,” words and music by Jonathan Richman, as recorded by Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers shall be the official rock song of the commonwealth.

According to the Globe, an effort to push for "Roadrunner" as the state song also happened in 2013 when Robert Hedlund, R-Weymouth, and then State Rep. Marty Walsh fell flat. There was another bill pushing for Aerosmith's "Dream On."

Modern Lovers' Jerry Harrison, who recording the song with the band and went on to join the Talking Heads, told Rolling Stone then,"I can't tell you how many congratulatory emails I've gotten."

Arlo Guthrie's "Massachusetts" is the state's official folk song, and "Say Hello to Someone From Massachusetts" is the Bay State's official polka.

"Roadrunner" is sometimes considered the first true punk song ever recorded.

Perhaps The Guardian describes it best: "'Roadrunner' is one of the most magical songs in existence. It is a song about what it means to be young, and behind the wheel of an automobile, with the radio on and the night and the highway stretched out before you. It is a paean to the modern world, to the urban landscape, to the Plymouth Roadrunner car, to roadside restaurants, neon lights, suburbia, the highway, the darkness, pine trees and supermarkets."

Roadrunner, roadrunner
Going faster miles an hour
Gonna drive past the Stop 'n' Shop
With the radio on
I'm in love with Massachusetts
And the neon when it's cold outside
And the highway when it's late at night
Got the radio on
I'm like the roadrunner

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