Has anyone written a song about where you live?

[Emops]

Neil Young wrote one about here, but unfortunately it's about how Nixon killed four college students.

I wish we had something cool like "My Old Kentucky Home."

[GRLMGC]

1. California Love

I love that song. Very danceable (I don't care if that isn't a real word)

[HEyHEY]

2. Yeah.. the Violent Femmes! But it has no lyrics

[HEyHEY]

3. And the SMugglers...

However it just occured to me I don't live there now..

[flamingyouth]

7. They wrote one about my hometown too

It's the B-side to their first single.

[Wat_Tyler]

43. And Jeff Buckley.

[Cyndee_Lou_Who]

But a fabulous song, nonetheless!

[oneighty]

4. Indeed

'When Skies are Dreary Over Lake Erie'

About yesterday and the day before and the day before that and.....

I think I will 'Shuffle off to Buffalo"

180

[rockymountaindem]

5. Rocky Mountain hiiiiiigh

Colorado...

[Rick Myers]

6. My HOME town...

Youngstown---Bruce Springsteen

Right now I live in Minneapolis, just south of Uptown--Prince!!!

[zbird]

8. My "original" hometown: "Allentown" by Billy Joel.

Now I live in West Podunk, MI... no songs about this quaint hamlet!

[smbolisnch]

9. There was a mystery novel placed in my town.

I can't even remember the name of it though! I read it, and it was pretty good! :D

[auntAgonist]

10. Tilsonburg (ontario)

i'm not from there but it's not far from where my home is in Ontario.

Stompin' Tom Connors.

[Left Is Write]

11. There's the Train song "Idaho."

[asthmaticeog]

12. A few

Ian Hunter "Cleveland Rocks"

Jefferson Starship "Stairway to Cleveland"

The Band "Look Out Cleveland"

Note that the first two blow. The third, which does not blow, is not actually aboout Cleveland, OH, but rather Cleveland, TX. So to get a good Cleveland song, I had to cheat.

On Edit: Holy crap, I almost forgot the all-time uber-suck Cleveland song, "My Town" by the Michael Stanley Band, may they die badly.

[Left Is Write]

14. Hey, I remember that song by the Michael Stanley Band.

I'd forgotten it until the moment I read your post, and then it instantly started flooding my head.

[asthmaticeog]

17. Oooof, awfully sorry about that!

[Rick Myers]

23. Hey, the MSB!!!

There's a blast from the past!!! Michael Stanley is still an ok guy!!!

[johnnie]

31. How dare you say that about Ian Hunter's classic tune

:spank:

Ian rocks and that song (though overplayed) is a great tune. I'm a huge Ian fan. He did a version called "England Rocks" also, but I think the one about Cleveland was first.
I guess it is cool if you think it blows, but I like it :)
:hi:

[asthmaticeog]

45. Nothing wrong with the tune as such, I guess...

...except for MASSIVE local overexposure. I was already years worth of sick of it when Drew Carey made it his show's theme song. I wonder if I'd like it if I heard it for the first time ever today, or if I wasn't such a dyed-in-the-wool Cle-boy.

Actually, mildly amusing story: last year, my cousin from NYC was visiting, and that song came on the radio in my car. She said - in all seriousness - "Radio here actually plays the Drew Carey theme song? This town's more desperate for approval than I thought!" I had to explainn to her that it was a legit chart hit in the '70s, and when I did, she asked me who Ian Hunter was. She's about 5 years younger than me, so it's kind of acceptable, I guess, but still, grrrrrrr.

[tuvor]

13. "Vancouver" by the Violent Femmes

A raucous live instrumental number from an an anthology, IIRC.

[fluffernutter]

15. The bluest skies I've ever seen are in Seattle

'cha right ;)

[5thGenDemocrat]

16. Oh sure

I was born (and still live) in Saginaw, Michigan. Lefty Frizzell had a big ol' song about it in the sixties.
Plus, the Brown Flamingos did a song called "On the Banks of the Saginaw River," the Monkees (!) did one called "If I Ever Get to Saginaw Again" and Gillian Welch has one in her repertoire called "Saginaw Way."
None actually have anything to do with the real city -- "Saginaw, Michigan" just has a melodic sound like "Gary, Indiana," a la "The Music Man."
John
It is, however, the hometown of musicians Stevie Wonder, Question Mark and the Mysterians and, from an earlier time, Danny Russo and Isham Jones.

[mitchum]

36. "Saginaw, Michigan" is a fantastic song

[maveric]

18. The San Diego Super Charger song. Cant think of any other songs

about San Diego.

[Zomby Woof]

25. "San Diego Serenade" - Tom Waits

[maveric]

27. Never heard it but I will check it out.

[vixengrl]

19. Sure. More than a few.

One I like--

Philadelphia Freedom

I used to be a rolling stone
You know if the cause was right
I'd leave to find the answer on the road
I used to be a heart beating for someone
But the times have changed
The less I say the more my work gets done

`Cause I live and breathe this Philadelphia freedom
From the day that I was born I've waved the flag
Philadelphia freedom took me knee-high to a man
Yeah gave me peace of mind my daddy never had

Oh Philadelphia freedom shine on me, I love you
Shine a light through the eyes of the ones left behind
Shine a light shine a light
Shine a light won't you shine a light
Philadelphia freedom I love you, yes I do

If you choose to you can live your life alone
Some people choose the city
Some others choose the good old family home
I like living easy without family ties
Till the whippoorwill of freedom zapped me
Right between the eyes


(The whippoorwill of fredom? eh?)

[SmileyBoy]

20. No. And I don't think anyone ever will.

[Cooper]

21. lots. i live in Carolina. n/t

n/t

[Zomby Woof]

22. 10,000 Maniacs - "The Painted Desert"

The Painted Desert can wait till summer.
We've played this game of just imagine long enough.
Wait till summer?
When I'm sure the rains have ended, the blooms have gone,
everyone killed by the morning frost.
Is a cactus blooming there in every roadside stand
where the big deal is cowboy gear worn in Japan?

The Painted Desert can wait till summer.
We've played this game of just imagine long enough.
Wait till summer?
When I'm sure the rains have ended and the blooms have gone,
everyone killed by the morning frost.
Is a cactus blooming there upon the Northern rim
or in the ruins of the Hopi mesa dens?

You met a new friend in the Canyon, or so you wrote.
On a blanket in the cooling sand you and your friend agreed that

the stars were so many there they seemed to overlap.

The Painted Desert can wait till summer.
We've played this game of just imagine long enough.
Wait till summer?
When I am sure the rain has ended, the blooms have gone,
everyone killed by the morning frost.
Was a cactus blooming there as you watched the Native boy?
In a Flagstaff trailer court, you wrote the line:
"He kicked a tumbleweed and his mother called him home
where the Arizona moon met the Arizona sun."

I wanted to be there by May at the latest time.
Isn't that the plan we had or have you changed your mind?
I haven't read a word from you since Phoenix or Tucson.
April is over will you tell me how long before I can be there?

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. Kansas City

but the funny thing is - you know that line that says "12th Street and Vine"? There is NO 12th Street And Vine.

I also don't think there is any Kansas City wine. Beer, but no wine.

[catmandu57]

29. there used to be

before interstate 70 disected everything.

[proud2BlibKansan]

41. I don't think so

12th Street is north of I-70 by 3 or 4 blocks.

When I was in high school, we researched this. There was a lively entertainment district downtown on 12th Street - where the Marriott Hotel sits today. That is several miles west of Vine. There also used to be lots of nightclubs at 18th and Vine, which is south of 12th Street. But we couldn't find evidence of any nightlife at 12th and Vine or that that intersection even existed. Maybe a long long time ago but even so, it wouldn't have been a happening spot.

[AntiCoup2K4]

26. Rancid wrote one (sort of)

Called "Olympia WA", but most of the lyrics are actually about New York City. Go figure....

[mitchum]

38. Hole's "Rock Star" opens with the line...

"When I went to school in Olympia..."
She really was a good lyricist back then. Pity.

[Buns_of_Fire]

28. Sure -- Paul Simon ("My Little Town")

Although he's never been here, and wouldn't be caught dead within 50 miles of the place, he summed it up nicely anyway...

...And after it rains
There’s a rainbow
And all of the colors are black
It’s not that the colors aren’t there
It’s just imagination they lack
Everything’s the same
Back in my little town

Nothing but the dead and dying
Back in my little town
Nothing but the dead and dying
Back in my little town

(...and so she said to me, "You must be homesick." And so I said, "You're right. It's my home and I'm sick of it." *barrrump, ding!*)

[catmandu57]

30. Brewer&Shipley did an album

and included a town in the area Tarkio road. There used to be a college there that they played at.

[alarimer]

32. Robert Earl Keen- "Corpus Christi Bay"

"I never could stay sober/
on the Corpus Christi Bay."

Meet me in Corpus- Larry Joe Taylor (I don't know if he wrote it).

[mitchum]

33. Yes: The B-52s, REM, and Pylon have written numerous songs...

about this cool little town

[democracyindanger]

34. San Francisco. No.

[Taxloss]

35. No, but they made a film: "Passport to Pimlico".

I live in Pimlico, London.

[Slippery_Hammer]

37. Sioux City Sue

Sioux City Sue, Sioux City Sue,
Your hair is red, your eyes are blue
I'd swap my horse and dog for you, oh
Sioux City Sue, Sioux City Sue
There ain't no gal as true as my sweet Sioux City Sue.

I drove a herd of cattle out
From old Nebraska way
That's how I come to be in the state of I-o-way.
I met a gal and asked her how
She said "Indeed I do"
I asked her what her name was and she said
"Sioux City Sue"

Sioux City Sue, Sioux City Sue,
Your hair is red, your eyes are blue
I'd swap my horse and dog for you, oh
Sioux City Sue, Sioux City Sue
There ain't no gal as true as my sweet Sioux City Sue.
http://www.rienzihills.com/SING/siouxcitysue.htm

Of course this is about where I live not where I am from...

[Gato Moteado]

39. "sweet home chicago" is my home town.....

and there's only about a million more written about chicago.

now i live in texas, and there's way too many songs about texas. i wish someone would write a truthful one titled "texas sucks ass".

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

40. Ok, I no longer live in the city, but still in the state. New York State

Of Mind. ;)

[Wat_Tyler]

42. Yeah - Spinal Tap did.

[Mabel Dodge]

44. Four Dead In Ohio

Crosby Stills Nash Young - Four Dead In Ohio Lyrics
Tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'.
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drummin'.
Four dead in Ohio.

Gotta get down to it.
Soldiers are gunning us down.
Should have been done long ago.
What if you knew her and
Found her dead on the ground?
How can you run when you know?

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.

Gotta get down to it.
Soldiers are cutting us down.
Should have been done long ago.
What if you knew her and
Found her dead on the ground?
How can you run when you know?

Tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'.
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drummin'.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio.

[norml]

46. Bruce Springsteen song Nebraska, mentions Lincoln Nebraska.

I saw her standin’ on her front lawn just twirlin’ her baton
Me and her went for a ride sir and ten innocent people died

From the town of lincoln nebraska with a sawed-off .410 on my lap
Through to the badlands of wyoming I killed everything in my path

I can’t say that I’m sorry for the things that we done
At least for a little while sir me and her we had us some fun

The jury brought in a guilty verdict and the judge he sentenced me to death
Midnight in a prison storeroom with leather straps across my chest

Sheriff when the man pulls that switch sir and snaps my poor neck back
You make sure my pretty baby is sittin’ right there on my lap

They declared me unfit to live said into that great void my soul’d
Be hurled
They wanted to know why I did what I did
Well sir I guess there’s just a meanness in this world

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

47. Barry White, "Rio de Janeiro"

Plus, of course, a gazillion Brazilian musicians.

[Z_I_Peevey]

48. Close enough, this one:

Oklahoma Hills
words and music by Woody and Jack Guthrie

Many a month has come and gone
Since I’ve wandered from my home
In those Oklahoma Hills
Where I was born
Many a page of my life has turned
Many lessons I have learned
And I feel like in those hills
Where I belong

CHORUS:
Way down yonder in the Indian nation
Ridin’ my pony on the reservation
In the Oklahoma Hills where I was born
Way down yonder in the Indian nation
A cowboy’s life is my occupation
In the Oklahoma Hills where I was born

But as I sit here today
Many miles I am away
From the place I rode my pony
Through the draw
Where the oak and black-jack trees
Kiss the playful prairie breeze
And I feel back in those hills
Where I belong

CHORUS

Now as I turn life a page
To the land of the great Osage
In those Oklahoma hills
Where I was born
Where the black oil rolls and flows
And the snow white cotton grows
And I feel like in those hills
Where I belong

CHORUS

[RebelOne]

49. "Georgia" by Ray Charles

[norml]

50. Lyrics to My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night! A cool song?

My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night!

The sun shines bright in the old Kentucky home,
'Tis summer, the darkies are gay,
The corn top's ripe and the meadow's in the bloom
While the birds make music all the day.
The young folks roll on the little cabin floor,
All merry, all happy and bright:
By'n by Hard Times comes a knocking at the door,
Then my old Kentucky Home, good night!

chorus:
Weep no more, my lady,
Oh! weep no more today!
We will sing one song
For the old Kentucky Home,
For the old Kentucky Home, far away.

They hunt no more for the possum and the coon
On the meadow, the hill and the shore,
They sing no more by the glimmer of the moon,
On the bench by the old cabin door.
The day goes by like a shadow o'er the heart,
With sorrow where all was delight:
The time has come when the darkies have to part,
Then my old Kentucky Home, good night!

(chorus)

The head must bow and the back will have to bend,
Wherever the darkey may go:
A few more days, and the trouble all will end
In the field where the sugar canes grow.
A few more days for to tote the weary load,
No matter 'twill never be light,
A few more days till we totter on the road,
Then my old Kentucky Home, good night!

(chorus)



______________________________

[RagingInMiami]

51. The Blues Brothers sang "Going back to Miami."

[Bertha Venation]

52. About my home town: "Surf City"

Huntington Beach, CA, is Surf City.

I don't surf, but if I could live on the beach, I would.

[welshTerrier2]

53. Sweet Baby James - Massachusetts

Now the first of December was covered with snow
And so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston
Though the Berkshires seemed dreamlike on account of that frosting
With ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go ...

- James Taylor

[Longgrain]

54. State? Yes...

"Massachusetts" by the Bee Gee's. Home town? Except for the local high school song...hell no...

[jeff30997]

55. In the 70's...

There was that French-Canadian country singer who made a song about my/his hometown.Really cheesy tune.