Pull Up to the Bumper

"Pull Up to the Bumper"
Artwork for 1986 single re-release
Single by Grace Jones
from the album Nightclubbing
B-side
ReleasedJune 1981 (1981-06)
StudioCompass Point Studios, Nassau, The Bahamas
Genre
Length
  • 3:40 (single version)
  • 4:41 (album version)
LabelIsland
Composer(s)
  • Kookoo Baya
  • Grace Jones
  • Dana Mano
Lyricist(s)Grace Jones
Producer(s)
Grace Jones singles chronology
"I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)"
(1981)
"Pull Up to the Bumper"
(1981)
"Walking in the Rain"
(1981)

"Jones the Rhythm"
(1985)

"Pull Up to the Bumper"
(1986)

"Love Is the Drug"
(1986)
Music video
"Pull Up to the Bumper" on YouTube

"Pull Up to the Bumper" is a song by Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress Grace Jones, released in June 1981 by Island Records as the third single from her fifth album, Nightclubbing (1981). Sonically, it is an uptempo electro-disco, post-punk, dance-pop and reggae-disco song with dub production, "pulsing drums and chic new-wave licks", as well as being described as a hybrid of funk and R&B. Its lyrics were written by Jones alone, while she, along with Kookoo Baya and Dana Manno, are credited as its composers. The song's instrumental part was originally recorded in 1980 during the Warm Leatherette sessions; however, it did not make the album as Chris Blackwell found its sound not fitting in the rest of the material. It was completed for the 1981 critically acclaimed Nightclubbing album and became its third single in June 1981. The song peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart and number 53 on the UK Singles Chart. When re-released in 1986, it peaked at number 12 in the UK. The track has come to be one of Jones' signature tunes and her first transatlantic hit.

The song sparked controversy for its sexually suggestive lyrics, prompting some radio stations to refuse to broadcast it. Among the lines are "Pull up to my bumper baby / In your long black limousine / Pull up to my bumper baby / Drive it in between", "Grease it / Spray it / Let me lubricate it" and "I've got to blow your horn." However, in a 2008 interview with Q magazine, Jones suggested that the lyrics were not necessarily meant to be interpreted as a metaphor for anal sex.