You heard the story of the hot rod race, that fatal day
When the Ford and the Mercury went out to play
Well, this is the inside story, and I'm here to say
I was the kid who drivin' that Model-A

It's got a Lincoln motor and it's really souped up
That Model-A body makes it look like a pup
It's got twelve cylinders and it uses 'em all
With an overdrive that just won't stall

Got a four-barrel carb and dual exhausts
Four-eleven gears, you can really get lost
Got safety tubes and I'm not scared
The brakes are good and the tires are fair

We left San Pedro late one night
The moon and the stars were shinin' bright
Eveything went fine up the Grapevine Hill
We was passin' cars like they were standin' still

Then all of a sudden, like a flick of an eye
A Cadillac Sedan passed us by
A remark was made, "There's the car for me"
But by then the taillights were all you could see

Well, the fellas ribbed me for bein' behind
So I started to make that Lincoln unwind
I took my foot off the gas and, man alive
I shoved it down into overdrive

Well, I wound it up to a hundred-and-ten
Twisted the speedometer cable right off in the end
I had my footfeed clear to the floor
I said, "That's all there is, there ain't no more"

We went around a corner and we passed a truck
I whispered a prayer just for luck
The fenders are clickin' the guard rail post
The guys beside me were white as a ghost

I guess they thought that I lost my sense
The telephone poles looked like a picket fence
They said, "Slow down, I see spots"
The lines on the road, they just look like dots

Smoke was a-rollin' out of the back
When I started to gain on that Cadillac
I knew I could catch him and hoped I could pass
But when I did, I'd be short on gas

Went around the corner with the tyres on the side
You could feel the tension; man, what a ride
I said, "Hold on, I've got a license to fly"
And the Cadillac pulled over and let me go by

Then all of a sudden the rod started knockin'
Went down in a dip, she started a-rockin'
I looked in the mirror, a red light was blinkin'
Cops was after my Hot Rod Lincoln

Well, they arrested me and put me in jail
I called my pop to go my bail
He said, "Son, you're gonna drive me to drinkin'
If you don't quit drivin' that Hot Rod Lincoln"