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Grant Ford

English 1102

Dr. C

February 16, 2020

Life Is a Highway

Life’s like a road that you travel on, when there’s one day here and the next day gone”

are the opening lines to the popular song “Life Is a Highway”. Even though this is not the chorus

of the song these are the most important lyrics, since they set up the main claim for the song.

Rascal Flats' version of "Life Is a Highway" is very well known to the younger generation

because of the song's appearance in the Disney movie "Cars". The song and video cover the

trials and journey of life while using an animated movie to show this in a kid-friendly way.

The version by Tom Cochrane was produced in the '90s and appeals to an older audience

since the main characters of the video are a couple, driving and experiencing the metaphorical

"Highway" of life. 

The song “Life Is a Highway” was recorded by Tom Cochrane in 1990 and released in

1991. The song has been re-recorded by many different artists, but the Tom Cochrane version is

the original. “Life Is a Highway” is Tom’s most famous song and landed him the number one

spot in Canada for a period of time. The song also climbed its way up to number six on the

United States Billboard chart. Tom developed the idea of this song in the early 80’s and

originally was going to call it “Love Is a Highway” but had to change the title when he left his

current band at the time, Red Rider, and still wanted to record the song.

In 2005 Rascal Flatts recorded their own version of “Life Is a Highway”. The movie that

this song appeared in was released one year after the song was recorded. The Rascal Flatts
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version of the song sold mostly digital copies and is still popular today. The song peaked at

number seven on the Billboard chart which is one lower than the original version by Tom

Cochrane. This version of the song was also voted the “Favorite Song from a Movie” at the 33rd

People’s Choice Awards show.

In Tom Cochran’s version of “Life Is a Highway” the video starts out in the desert with

one road cutting through the dirt. On the road there is a young couple driving a convertible

stopping in every town they see. The video bounces back and forth between this couple, their

different stops, and Tom playing the guitar all over the desert. The couple helps target a specific

audience by traveling wherever the road takes them. I believe this target is the young adult

audience. The video tells the story of driving your own metaphorical “highway of life” and

letting the road decide where you’re going to go next. While you drive your own highway, as the

video shows, you want to have fun. This is shown with the couple laughing and getting out of the

car to dance while living the best life they can together.

Rascal Flatts in their remake of the video put an old-time spin on it by showing up to a

drive-in movie theater in antique cars. This drive-in theater also seems to be in the middle of the

desert. The theater is playing the movie “Cars” and is showing scenes from the movie that follow

along with the song. The video focuses on the main car and his situation. It shows trials and

successes from the main car’s journey as he goes through his own “Highway” of life. The movie

being played shares the music video with the band preforming their song on stage. While they

are playing, the movie is behind them showing the importance of the lyrics. This video is

targeted at kids and young teens. This is accomplished by speaking to someone young showing

them the life they have ahead of them is not going to be easy, but by surrounding yourself with

good friends and adapting to each situation you can still have fun and learn a lot along the way.
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Even though these songs have the same lyrics, they still have differences. A major one is

the target audience for their claim. Cochrane’s version has a deeper pitch and older feel to it,

while the higher pitch and newer sounding beat of Rascal Flatts makes it very kid friendly. Even

with a different target audience, a similarity is that both have the same message. Both songs want

the viewer to understand the journey of life and how to take it. Both songs are being played in

the desert and give great examples of the journey of life. Something I interpreted is that in

Cochrane’s version he is alone singing the song, while the Rascal Flatts band members are in a

group together. Cochrane seems to be looking back on his younger days telling the story of the

journey he has already taken, which is represented by the young couple. Rascal Flatts are

currently together on their journey while they sing about what they have done and what’s to

come. This is represented by the car going through his struggles and finding people to help and

travel with him.

After studying two different versions of this song, the appeal being used is clear.

Because of the relatable story and lyrics of both videos “Life Is a Highway” gives an emotional

or pathos appeal. Since the reader is being informed about the great journey of life, they are

encouraged to take their own journey through both the high and low points. With that being said,

my conclusion is that no matter where you are in your own journey in life, what matters is that

you have fun and enjoy the people you meet along the way. Tom Cochrane and Rascal Flatts said

it best when saying “life is a highway; I want to ride it all night long”.
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Works sited

Flatts Rascal, “Life Is a Highway”, YouTube, Version 3, Rascal Flatts, January 23, 2015,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tXh_MfrMe0

Cochrane Tom, “Life Is a Highway”, YouTube, Version 1, Tom Cochrane, February 23, 2009,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3sMjm9Eloo