# Car people, can you explain "Little Deuce Coupe" lyrics? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 10, 2017, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841 "2017-01-10T22:59:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/41 "2017-01-11T20:47:23Z")
In _Shut Down_, there’s a line about _“two cool shorts sitting side by side”_ What is a short? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/42 "2017-01-11T21:19:54Z")
[http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2003/jan/23/beach-boys-puzzle-old-car-freaks/](http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2003/jan/23/beach-boys-puzzle-old-car-freaks/) This claims it means short wheelbase dragster. ---
**Author:** ![UncaStuart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncastuart/32/404_2.png) [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/43 "2017-01-11T21:32:41Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > In the song, probably. On the album cover, [definitely not.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Deuce_Coupe#/media/File:Little_Deuce_Coupe.jpg) Interesting. I guess the label art department didn’t listen closely to the tune, 'cuz that has neither a flathead Ford nor Lakes pipes. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/44 "2017-01-11T22:05:36Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > In _Shut Down_, there’s a line about _“two cool shorts sitting side by side”_ > > What is a short? All these years, I thought that line was “two cool sharps”. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/45 "2017-01-11T22:15:12Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Wow… all of this lingo is part of my foundational knowledge. Is it really that obscure in the era of chipped, flattened ricers? I don’t know ANY men of any age who futz around with cars, young or old. Once upon a time in the 50’s, maybe someone’s uncle would be out in the garage on weekends poking around an ancient Ford, like the Fonz. Husband can replace a dead battery and clean a sparkplug, that kind of thing, but not lately - he says 'why would I, that’s what the garage down the road is paid to do." My father, husband, neighbors, and boyfriends of our children get in their cars and go - if it needs work or breaks down, they call the AAA. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/46 "2017-01-11T22:18:41Z")
Thus passes another era. I used to be a gear head, until computers ate my engine. I think the last vehicle I owned that I regularly did all the work on was a '72 Dodge. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/47 "2017-01-11T23:17:11Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The song doesn’t say anything about “racing for pinks.” The song just says “This baby’s _mine_.” You wouldn’t get the pink slip until the car was fully paid for. As for actual racing for pinks…I would think that pretty soon only strangers like Bob Falfa would race against someone like John Milner. Is that (or was) a California thing? We (Iowanians) used to get the vehicle registration in the form of carbon paper copies, about 3"x5", iirc a blue and pink one. Maybe the courthouse had a white copy. For some reason they were stored or displayed on the steering column, and they would sell little wallet deals with a plastic cover, sometimes people kept them in a similar deal on the sun visor. But registration is just that, it’s not the title. Did California issue pink titles at one time? ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/48 "2017-01-12T00:01:46Z")
I was way into cars in my younger day. All I have now is a slideshow file with a gazillion pics of cool cars, mostly mid-late 60s musclecars. Coolest car I had was a '66 GTO. Had it for 12 years, sold it around 1986. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/49 "2017-01-12T00:07:02Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I don’t know ANY men of any age who futz around with cars, young or old. Once upon a time in the 50’s, maybe someone’s uncle would be out in the garage on weekends poking around an ancient Ford, like the Fonz. Husband can replace a dead battery and clean a sparkplug, that kind of thing, but not lately - he says 'why would I, that’s what the garage down the road is paid to do." My father, husband, neighbors, and boyfriends of our children get in their cars and go - if it needs work or breaks down, they call the AAA. When automobiles first came out, one had to prove they knew how all the parts worked and how to repair them should they break down before the State would issue you a drivers license. Car mechanics came later. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/50 "2017-01-12T01:10:17Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > Is that (or was) a California thing? We (Iowanians) used to get the vehicle registration in the form of carbon paper copies, about 3"x5", iirc a blue and pink one. Maybe the courthouse had a white copy. For some reason they were stored or displayed on the steering column, and they would sell little wallet deals with a plastic cover, sometimes people kept them in a similar deal on the sun visor. > > But registration is just that, it’s not the title. Did California issue pink titles at one time? Yes, they did, before 1988. > [@](#): > > The name “pink slip” is a reference to California certificates of titles before 1988, when they were pink… > > …Many illegal street races of the 1950s, glorified in movies, featured racing for vehicle titles, henceforth the popularity of the term “racing for pink slips,” > **[Vehicle title](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_title)** > > In the United States, the certificate of title for a vehicle (also known as a car title, automobile title, or pink slip) is a legal form, establishing a person or business as the legal owner of a vehicle. Vehicle titles in the U.S. are commonly issued by the Secretary of State in the state the vehicle was purchased by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). > Each state in the US has its own distinct process for the Certificate of Title. When filling out the title during a vehicle transaction, the... ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/51 "2017-01-12T04:00:45Z")
I’ve no idea what the actual colour was, but they were called “pink slips” when I was a kid in Michigan (1960s). ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/52 "2017-01-12T06:18:13Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I don’t know ANY men of any age who futz around with cars, young or old. Once upon a time in the 50’s, maybe someone’s uncle would be out in the garage on weekends poking around an ancient Ford, like the Fonz. Husband can replace a dead battery and clean a sparkplug, that kind of thing, but not lately - he says 'why would I, that’s what the garage down the road is paid to do." My father, husband, neighbors, and boyfriends of our children get in their cars and go - if it needs work or breaks down, they call the AAA. There are still plenty of car enthusiasts doing the same kinds of modifications to current day engines. The GM LS series of engines are still entirely serviceable and modable. My 15 year old Trans Am with the 5.7L LS1 engine has never been returned to the shop for any engine or running gear work, once I took it to a modern hot-rod shop for exhaust work, otherwise I do it all myself and over-maintain it in my own garage. Still a huge after market for parts and guys (and girls) still soup them up for track night at the drag strip. [LS1TECH - Camaro and Firebird Forum Discussion](http://ls1tech.com/forums/) is a popular forum where you can find out all you need to know to do whatever you want to your GM. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/53 "2017-01-12T07:07:33Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > All these years, I thought that line was “two cool sharps”. For lo these many years I thought it was sharks, and that’s still the way I sing along. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/54 "2017-01-12T10:09:34Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > What is a big slip differential? I got curious and I’ve found a few Google results claiming that “big slip” was '60s hot rodder slang for limited slip and that the lyrics actually are “big slip, daddy” For [example](http://www.wow.com/wiki/Limited-slip_differential) Well, that’s basically what I’m asking. What in the world would a “big slip” be, since slip isn’t what you would want while drag racing? I’ve heard them called limited slip, lockers, detroit lockers, Positraction, LSD (which aren’t all the same thing, but they’re all to increase traction), but never that. If you’ve got any contemporary examples to the song of “big slip” being used to describe traction enhancers of the time, I’d read them. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/55 "2017-01-12T11:15:19Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > What’s the last car that came with the gear shift on the column, anyway? Or are there still some being made? The first one which comes to mind is the famous HM Ambassador which has been manufactured in India for 50 years. It is a copy of the Morris Oxford from Britain. > **[Hindustan Ambassador](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindustan_Ambassador)** > > The Hindustan Ambassador is an automobile that was manufactured by Indian manufacturer Hindustan Motors from 1957 to 2014, with improvements and changes over its production lifetime. The Ambassador was based on the Morris Oxford series III model, first made by Morris Motors Limited at Cowley, Oxford in the United Kingdom from 1956 to 1959. > Despite its British origins, the Ambassador was considered as a definitive Indian car and was fondly called the "King of Indian roads". The automobile was ... I think Fiat make one too. And…F1 racing cars have column gear shifts. Dang. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/56 "2017-01-12T13:28:38Z")
Does anyone have access to the lyrics from an original Beach Boys record with the song on it? While I am not saying it can’t be “pink slip”, I’ve always heard it as “big slip”, and I don’t know why having the “pink slip” would make a car enthusiast flip their lid. The whole song is about how hopped up the car is, and “big slip” would be one more example of that. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/57 "2017-01-12T15:23:36Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Well, that’s basically what I’m asking. What in the world would a “big slip” be, since slip isn’t what you would want while drag racing? I’ve heard them called limited slip, lockers, detroit lockers, Positraction, LSD (which aren’t all the same thing, but they’re all to increase traction), but never that. > > If you’ve got any contemporary examples to the song of “big slip” being used to describe traction enhancers of the time, I’d read them. I have none and I’m not especially convinced by what I’ve found through google. I just saw your comment and wondered if you knew something. As a musician, I’m sure you’ll agree that the song was written and arranged to make that line the be all and end culmination all of why the deuce is the car you should envy: It’s the last line of the bridge, the shuffle rhythm reduces to three quarter note stomps and the singers drop their harmonies and shout that line in octaves and unison. If all that portentousness was used to announce that the car has some kind of performance diff it would be really silly. I’m quite convinced that he’s actually written the line that way to announce his confidence in the car through his willingness to race for pink slips and I apologise for the hijack. Edited to add: I just noticed that, in my time zone, you post was submitted at 4:09 am. Well played! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/58 "2017-01-12T15:25:48Z")
The original LPs don’t have lyrics printed on them anywhere, either the cover or the liner. Other than in this thread, I have never heard of **anyone** who thinks the words are “big slip.” Not in 50 years. Not in any cover version. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/59 "2017-01-12T15:42:04Z")
I just listened to it and there’s no doubt in my mind the first part is “I got” not “she’s got” and I’ve always heard the rest as “the pink slip, daddy”. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/60 "2017-01-12T15:59:56Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > As a musician, I’m sure you’ll agree that the song was written and arranged to make that line the be all and end culmination all of why the deuce is the car you should envy: It’s the last line of the bridge, the shuffle rhythm reduces to three quarter note stomps and the singers drop their harmonies and shout that line in octaves and unison. If all that portentousness was used to announce that the car has some kind of performance diff it would be really silly. > > I’m quite convinced that he’s actually written the line that way to announce his confidence in the car through his willingness to race for pink slips and I apologise for the hijack. Totally agree, and nice analysis of the dynamics of the line! > [@74westy](#): > > Edited to add: I just noticed that, in my time zone, you post was submitted at 4:09 am. Well played! Once again, fortune conspires to make me seem more clever than I actually am. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841.md?page=4)