"Motorpsycho Nitemare", also known as "Motorpsycho Nightmare", is an early song written by Bob Dylan. It was released in 1964 on Dylan's fourth studio album ANOTHER SIDE OF BOB DYLAN.
The song is based in part on Alfred Hitchcock's movie Psycho and also makes a reference to the Federico Fellini film La Dolce Vita. It is a parody that also draws on traveling salesmen jokes, where the main character shows up at a farmhouse looking for a place to spend the night, only to be lured by the temptations of the farmer's daughter. Dylan weds the basic plots of the film and joke to create a humorous tale with a political point.
A translation of the song, titled Cauchemar Psychomoteur, with lyrics by Hugues Aufray and Pierre Delanoë, was recorded in French in 1965 by Hugues Aufray on his album AUFRAY CHANTE DYLAN; the song was a hit in France.
 France, 1965, Société Internationale de Musique. |
 same, 1972, Editions Warner Bros. Filipacchi You-You Music, 4 pages |
