"Drive By" is a song by American roots rock band, Train, from their sixth studio album, California 37. It was released in the United States as the album's lead single on January 9, 2012, three months before the release of California 37. The song was written by lead singer Patrick Monahan and Norwegian songwriting duo Espen Lind, Amund Bjørklund, the same team responsible for Train's 2009 hit single "Hey, Soul Sister".

"Drive By" peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's third top 10 hit in the US. It was awarded a double platinum certification by the RIAA on July 23, 2012, for more than 2 million sales in the US. Internationally, the song became a top ten hit in 13 countries. Train performed the song on television series 90210 in the episode "Blood Is Thicker Than Mud", which aired on March 13, 2012. Train also performed a parody entitled "Five By" with Elmo and Count von Count for an episode of Sesame Street.

"Drive By" is a pop rock song. The instrumentation consists of "buoyant acoustic riffs and a hook-laden melody". Lead singer Patrick Monahan sings in a characteristic "sing-talk vocal croon".

The chord structure is based on the pop punk chord progression.

The primary rhythm is also similar to that of ska, but omits necessary guitar upstrokes and palm muted downstrokes.

Billboard gave the song a positive review stating:

If at first you succeed -- why not try again? For the first single from its forthcoming "California 37," Train returns to the Espionage, the Norwegian songwriting and production duo of Espen Lind and Amund Bjorklund that helped the group put together its 2010 comeback smash "Hey Soul Sister." "Drive By" starts with a staccato guitar strum and a percussive thump that certainly recalls its predecessor, with a slight ethnic flavor that makes it recall a Bar Mitzvah reception. Frontman Pat Monahan semi-speaks the [verses] in tuneful, rap-like cadence, then turns to smooth pop singing for the choruses. The lyric, however, is a bit darker, with Monahan's protagonist trying to convince a one-night-stand that he really wants to "get down to the more-than-friends" at last. We bet she's heard that from all the pop singers, but Monahan pleads with enough joyful exuberance that she -- and we -- might just buy it.

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Wikipedia