“Good Times Roll” is the opening cut of The Cars’ first album. But the late Ric Ocasek, who wrote it, once told us you shouldn’t take it at face value.

“That was my song about what the good times in rock ‘n’ roll really mean, instead of what they’re supposed to be. It was kind of a parody of good times, really. It was kinda like not about good times at all.”

Tie-In: Today (September 15th) marks the first anniversary of the death of Cars frontman Ric Ocasek, who succumbed to heart disease in his New York apartment at age 75.