Airbus, in announcing plans for a new plant in Alabama, hired the Steve Miller Band to perform the 1977 song, “Jet Airliner.”
The song, however, is about a 707, made by Airbus competitor, Boeing. And it’s not exactly an anthem about how wonderful it is getting on a jet. It’s about the hesitation to do so, as in, “Big ol’ jet airliner. Don’t carry me too far away.”
Click here for the lyrics. They go like this: “But my heart keeps calling me backwards, as I get on the 707. Riding high, I’ve got tears in my eyes. You know you’ve got to go through hell before you get to heaven.”
707 rhymes with heaven. And A320 rhymes with what? Bunty? Runty? Punty? If anyone can find a way, it’s Miller, who in another well-played tune called “Take the money and run” came up with this bad rhyme:
“Billy Mack is a detective down in Texas. You know he knows just exactly what the facts is.”
Click here to read more about the new Airbus plant. For the European aircraft company, the U.S. is more than just a market, it’s cheap, offshore labor.
Boeing should have made Steve Miller sign a non-compete clause when he played “Jet Airliner” at a Boeing event last year. Boeing and Airbus are constantly fighting over who gets the most illegal subsidies. Now they can fight over this stupid song.
