I am a big fan of John Travolta and have loved watching him sing, dance, and act over the years. Grease is one of my all-time favorite movies. It was in this specific movie that we first heard, “Greased Lightnin‘.”
If you haven’t seen the movie, the meaning behind “Greased Lightnin” by John Travolta might not be immediately obvious. That is because context is everything. However, once you understand John Travolta’s character, Danny, along with the movie’s plot, things become much clearer. Hopefully, this brief synopsis will help.
Early Life and Career
John Travolta was born in 1954 in New Jersey. He showed an early aptitude for sports and, for a short time, was a semi-professional football player. He also worked as a tire salesman and became a partner in a tire company. But, his true passion was always acting.
If you read any John Travolta bios, he is listed as an actor, singer, and airline pilot. The last one makes me laugh, though I’ll give him the first two. Plus, I think we would all agree that John Travolta’s singing career pretty much finished after Grease.
I think it is also worth mentioning that in the early part of his career, you could also have added dancing to his bio. Let’s face it, many of us will initially remember him for his epic performance in Saturday Night Fever. I think it is also fair to say it was the role that made John Travolta a household name. Let’s all agree to just call him an actor then, shall we?
So, what other movies has he appeared in?
Lots. Before Saturday Night Fever, he appeared in an American TV sitcom, “Welcome Back, Kotter,” that ran from 1975 to 1979. It was a big success in America but was not well-known outside of the US.
John Travolta’s first major movie role was as a schoolboy bully in Carrie. No doubt, that classic movie provided him with a stepping stone to land the role of Tony in Saturday Night Fever in 1977. Subsequently, just a year later, he landed the part of Danny in the musical Grease, starring opposite the wonderful Olivia Newton-John, who is sadly no longer with us.
Grease was the perfect platform for John Travolta to showcase his dancing and acting skills. But, also his singing abilities. This was the movie that featured the song “Greased Lightning,” which I will be looking at more closely shortly.
Following Grease…
Travolta starred in the American Romantic Western Urban Cowboy. Then, rather inexplicably, he went out of fashion. And, other than playing in a few less successful movies, he dropped off the radar. At least as far as Hollywood was concerned.
No doubt he spent some of that time learning to fly, a plane and not like Superman, and building a runway in his garden. I wonder if he is considering adding an airport tower or terminal building. That would be cool. Although he leaves his plane, a Boeing 707 commercial jet, just parked outside the front of his house, which is possibly cooler still.
The resurrection of John Travolta’s career came in 1994 when he played a hitman together with Samuel L Jackson in the now-classic Quentin Tarantino movie Pulp Fiction. It was a superb comeback that demonstrated just what a great actor he is.
Hollywood and moviegoers took note, and his career took off once more…
Since then, Travolta has been a regular sight in movie theaters. Some of John Travolta’s memorable movies during this time included Get Shorty in 1995, Face/Off in 1997, The Taking of Pelham 123 in 2009, and In a Valley of Violence in 2016.
Recording Career
As I have already covered, John Travolta is more of an actor than a singer or dancer. Although, he does have some moves and a decent voice. Consequently, John Travolta’s recording career is relatively short and almost exclusively restricted to the earliest part of his career.
His first released song, “Dream Drummin,” came out as part of the musical “Over Here,” which was also released as an album of the same. Unfortunately, both the single and the album failed to chart.
Undeterred, John Travolta continued to release music…
Over the next three years, he brought out close to 20 singles and a couple of albums. John Travolta’s two albums, John Travolta and Can’t Let You Go, charted in the US at #39 and #66, respectively.
Three of his singles also charted. The best-performing was “Let Her In,” which reached a respectable #10 on the US Billboard Charts. However, outside of the US and Canada, he failed to chart.
The big musical breakthrough came with the release of Grease…
In tandem with the movie, four of the tracks included in Grease: The Original Soundtrack were released. The first of these was “You’re the One That I Want.” John Travolta sang it together with Olivia Newton-John, and the song was huge. It went to #1 in the US and the UK and sold 25 million copies worldwide. That makes it one of the best-selling singles in music history.
The following releases, though less successful, included “Summer Nights,” “Sandy,” and finally, “Greased Lightnin.” The last of which I am now going to take a closer look at.
Recording
The song was released in 1978 but was written seven years earlier by Warren Casey and Jim Jacobs. It was written for the stage play on which the movie was based. “Greased Lightnin,” unlike many of the others in the movie and soundtrack album, remained in its original form.
The reason for many of the other rewrites was that the initial Chicago-based version of Grease by Casey and Jacobs was full of profanities and sexual innuendos. Therefore, many of the songs were tamed somewhat to prevent the movie from getting a stricter movie guidance certification.
For whatever reason…
“Greased Lightnin” escaped any alterations and appeared in the movie and on the record as it was first written in 1971. However, although there were no profanities, the sexual innuendos were a little too much for the relatively conservative American radio stations.
This meant less airplay. Consequently, the song only managed to get to #47 on the US Billboard Charts. The UK was less worried about that kind of stuff as it went to #11. Unfortunately, there were still some knock-on effects due to US radio stations refusing to play it. As a result, it was not as globally successful as the other releases from the album.
Lyrics and Meaning
So, what is the meaning behind “Greased Lightnin” by John Travolta? The song is essentially about a car that John Travolta’s character, Danny, has decided to try to resurrect from the dead. And, as the central character and gang leader, his love and enthusiasm for this wreck of a car is big news.
Cue lots of singing and dancing…
Danny wants to rebuild the car and modify it to take up a challenge made by a rival gang for a drag race. However, the condition of the car meant it would be lucky to run. It needed a lot of work and expertise to have any chance of victory.
Danny was no mechanic, and his knowledge of cars was limited. Therefore, he had to get the rest of the gang to help him. This brings us to the first verse. Here, Danny launches into a charismatic sales pitch and tries to persuade his very skeptical fellow gang members that the car could be a winner. In the first verse, he comes up with the name Grease Lightnin’ for the car.
With the singing and dancing now in full flow, he keeps up the pressure and talks passionately about all the amazing modifications they can make. He then ends the verse by slipping in how the finished article will be a magnet for the girls. A surefire way to win the support from a group of guys if there ever was one!
The chorus then comes around…
Danny paints the picture of a victory. Plus, he manages to slip in a crude reference to how excited the girls will get at the prospect of a victory. I’m not going to repeat the exact words that were used.
Just to make sure the gang is on board with his vision, he presses home his advantage with more modification ideas. Then, yet another crude reference to how attractive the car is going to be to the girls is added. When you listen to or read the lyrics of “Greased Lightnin,” you can see why some of the radio censors were not keen on it.
The song finishes with another couple of choruses, complete with sexual innuendos, and the job is done. Danny has won over his crew. Now, all that is left to do is to try to get his wreck on wheels ready for the drag race. Spoiler alert… they win, of course.
Interested in the Meaning Behind Other Notable Tunes?
If so, check out our thoughts on the Meaning Of ‘American Pie’ Song Lyrics, The Meaning Behind “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd, The Meaning Behind “Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson, the Meaning Of The Song “Vienna” By Billy Joel, and The Meaning Behind “Lola” by The Kinks for more interpretations and insights.
The Meaning Behind “Greased Lightnin” by John Travolta – Final Thoughts
This is such a great song. It brings back so many great memories of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in their prime. There were so many great songs from Grease, but this is my favorite. Maybe because it is one of the few songs that got to the big screen uncensored.
If you have not seen the movie, then I would urge you to do so. It will make the meaning behind “Greased Lightnin” easier to understand. Additionally, I guarantee it will be a lot of fun.
If you have anything you would like to add or have any interesting stories about the song, or John Travolta, be sure to let me know in the comments below.
Until next time, happy listening.
