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GoneOffShore

(17,339 posts)
Sun Nov 27, 2022, 05:45 AM Nov 2022

What cities don't have songs written about them?

There are multiple songs about New York, San Francisco, Paris, London, Chicago, even Detroit.

But some cities get no love.

I mean, has anyone really written a song about how wonderful Philadelphia is? Or Baltimore? Or Seattle?


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What cities don't have songs written about them? (Original Post) GoneOffShore Nov 2022 OP
Why Ptah Nov 2022 #1
? The Polack MSgt Nov 2022 #7
Why is an unincorporated rural community in Pima County, Arizona, United States. Ptah Nov 2022 #8
Ahh. You got me. The Polack MSgt Nov 2022 #9
. Ptah Nov 2022 #13
Johnny Cash and his song multigraincracker Nov 2022 #2
Bangor, Maine GPV Nov 2022 #15
Didn't T-Rex record "Bangor Gong"? n/t Harker Nov 2022 #45
Roger Miller's King of the Road: Mr.Bill Nov 2022 #46
That's it! Haven't heard it in forever. GPV Nov 2022 #57
Then there was the G.W. Bush version when he left office...... DFW Nov 2022 #59
Philadelphia Sedona Nov 2022 #3
Yes and PCIntern Nov 2022 #10
Why not the original? malthaussen Nov 2022 #41
Because I liked this one PCIntern Nov 2022 #48
Streets of Philadelphia by The Boss also (nt) Hugh_Lebowski Nov 2022 #19
Of course, that's about a tennis team, not the city. :) malthaussen Nov 2022 #40
Partial to this.. NowsTheTime Nov 2022 #54
Houston, Galveston, Abilene, Fort Worth... Trueblue Texan Nov 2022 #4
Lyrics Ptah Nov 2022 #5
When I was a little girl... Trueblue Texan Nov 2022 #6
It is one of the best songs from that era. Written by Jimmy Webb, who worked a lot with Glen Campbe emulatorloo Nov 2022 #47
Abilene Doc_Technical Nov 2022 #16
Don't forget... True Dough Nov 2022 #17
Oh Yes! Trueblue Texan Nov 2022 #23
A toungue in cheek song with a lot of Texas cities DFW Nov 2022 #35
Trueblue Texan As a native Texan (but now a Californian).... Upthevibe Nov 2022 #36
awww thanks, upthevibe! nt Trueblue Texan Nov 2022 #37
Ft. Worth: LudwigPastorius Nov 2022 #53
Baltimore has this one..... Tanuki Nov 2022 #11
And "Good Morning Baltimore" malthaussen Nov 2022 #43
And this: Tommy Carcetti Nov 2022 #65
Seattle: sl8 Nov 2022 #12
forgot about this one too!nt Trueblue Texan Nov 2022 #24
Milwaukee Grumpy Old Guy Nov 2022 #14
I like "Man From Milwaukee" malthaussen Nov 2022 #42
I never heard that one. Grumpy Old Guy Nov 2022 #44
This song was written and recorded by a local Huntsville entertainer when I was 16. House of Roberts Nov 2022 #18
Canada has a great song. MicaelS Nov 2022 #20
I googled Steubenville Ohio doc03 Nov 2022 #21
Paterson NJ Wicked Blue Nov 2022 #22
Even Sheboygan has a song. Archae Nov 2022 #25
Tucson? Elessar Zappa Nov 2022 #26
This edhopper Nov 2022 #29
Lyrics Ptah Nov 2022 #30
Ah yes. Elessar Zappa Nov 2022 #31
Unfortunately, There Aren't Enough ProfessorGAC Nov 2022 #27
Well two cities have a band whistler162 Nov 2022 #28
Not Boston? DFW Nov 2022 #32
One of the best bands evah! GPV Nov 2022 #58
Wall of guitar sound and tight harmonies DFW Nov 2022 #60
Exactly! GPV Nov 2022 #61
The Whiffenpoofs do this about my city CTyankee Nov 2022 #33
If anyone was hanging around the University of Pennsylvania in the early seventies........ DFW Nov 2022 #34
This one is a twofer CTyankee Nov 2022 #38
I looked up songs for all the cities with a baseball team... malthaussen Nov 2022 #39
Cleveland Rocks! Ohiya Nov 2022 #51
There have certainly been some interesting songs that have shown up in this thread. GoneOffShore Nov 2022 #56
Philadelphia Freedom, The Bluest Skies You've Ever Seen nolabear Nov 2022 #49
Cleveland, Cincinatti, Pittsburgh? wnylib Nov 2022 #50
"There's a Pawnshop on the Corner in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania" malthaussen Nov 2022 #66
Baltimore by Randy Newman Ohiya Nov 2022 #52
Seattle: Rhiannon12866 Nov 2022 #55
Little Rock. I don't think there are any. raccoon Nov 2022 #62
... Major Nikon Nov 2022 #67
Indianapolis? Mad_Machine76 Nov 2022 #63
And it don't rain in Indianapolis in the summertime Ptah Nov 2022 #64

Ptah

(33,027 posts)
8. Why is an unincorporated rural community in Pima County, Arizona, United States.
Sun Nov 27, 2022, 06:48 AM
Nov 2022
Why is an unincorporated rural community in Pima County, Arizona, United States. It lies near the western border of the Tohono Oʼodham Indian Reservation and due north of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Southern Arizona. It is approximately 30 miles (48 km) north of the Mexican border where Lukeville, Arizona, and Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico, border each other, and 10 miles (16 km) south of Ajo, Arizona.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why,_Arizona

malthaussen

(17,193 posts)
41. Why not the original?
Sun Nov 27, 2022, 03:37 PM
Nov 2022

Which mentions several cities.

Now, "South Street," that's a real Philly tune.

-- Mal

malthaussen

(17,193 posts)
40. Of course, that's about a tennis team, not the city. :)
Sun Nov 27, 2022, 03:36 PM
Nov 2022

"The Sound of Philadelphia" also works.

-- Mal

Trueblue Texan

(2,429 posts)
4. Houston, Galveston, Abilene, Fort Worth...
Sun Nov 27, 2022, 06:24 AM
Nov 2022

...are the ones I know of in Texas. Why don't one of you DUers get to work on those progressive cities?

Ptah

(33,027 posts)
5. Lyrics
Sun Nov 27, 2022, 06:26 AM
Nov 2022

Galveston, oh Galveston
I still hear your sea winds blowing
I still see her dark eyes glowing
She was 21
When I left Galveston
Galveston, oh Galveston
I still hear your sea waves crashing
While I watch the cannons flashing
I clean my gun
And dream of Galveston
I still see her standing by the water
Standing there looking out to sea
And is she waiting there for me?
On the beach where we used to run
Galveston, oh Galveston
I am so afraid of dying
Before I dry the tears she's crying
Before I watch your sea birds flying in the sun
At Galveston, at Galveston

Trueblue Texan

(2,429 posts)
6. When I was a little girl...
Sun Nov 27, 2022, 06:38 AM
Nov 2022

...apparently a very romantic little girl, my brother was in Viet Nam. He had a girlfriend named Sherry that lived in Pearland. Before he shipped out, my mother would drop us kids off at Sherry's house and take her with my brother to the beach in Galveston.

When Glen Campbell came out with Galveston I would always cry thinking about my brother in Viet Nam, pining away for his pretty girlfriend, staring out at the water and thinking about the happy times they must have had running on Galveston Beach. That song ALWAYS bring sweet, sad memories. When he got back to the states, they were together, but they never made a permanent go of it. I would have loved having her for a sister, but it just wasn't in the cards, as they say.

emulatorloo

(44,119 posts)
47. It is one of the best songs from that era. Written by Jimmy Webb, who worked a lot with Glen Campbe
Sun Nov 27, 2022, 05:37 PM
Nov 2022

Thanks so much for sharing your memories.

DFW

(54,369 posts)
35. A toungue in cheek song with a lot of Texas cities
Sun Nov 27, 2022, 01:52 PM
Nov 2022


All my exes live in Texas
And Texas is a place I'd dearly love to be
But all my exes live in Texas
And that's why I hang my hat in Tennessee

Rosanna's down in Texarkana
Wanted me to push her broom
Sweet Eileen's in Abilene
She forgot I hung the moon
And Allison's in Galveston
Somehow lost her sanity
And Dimples who now lives in Temple's
Got the law looking for me.............

Upthevibe

(8,041 posts)
36. Trueblue Texan As a native Texan (but now a Californian)....
Sun Nov 27, 2022, 01:54 PM
Nov 2022

Galveston:



.......Lots of songs written about Texas cities but probably are more written about my true love: California. Too many to post. Also a lot about California the state.

House of Roberts

(5,168 posts)
18. This song was written and recorded by a local Huntsville entertainer when I was 16.
Sun Nov 27, 2022, 08:58 AM
Nov 2022

Bobby Brook's brother Larry managed the Shakey's Pizza on Memorial Parkway in Huntsville, Alabama. Bobby was in a car wreck and as he recuperated, he would come into Shakey's, sit down at the piano, and do impromptu shows to recover his stamina to perform. The clubs named in the song were all real establishments operating in Huntsville when the song was written.


Ptah

(33,027 posts)
30. Lyrics
Sun Nov 27, 2022, 01:26 PM
Nov 2022

Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner
But he knew it couldn't last
Jojo left his home in Tucson, Arizona
For some California grass
Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back Jojo
Go home
Get back, get back
Back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back
Back to where you once belonged, yeah
Oh, get back, Jo
Sweet Loretta Martin thought she was a woman
But she was another man
All the girls around her say she's got it coming
But she gets it while she can
Oh, get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back Loretta, woo, woo
Go home
Oh, get back, yeah, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Yeah, get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Ooh
Ooh, ooh
Get back, Loretta
Your mommy's waitin' for you
Wearin' her high-heel shoes
And a low-neck sweater
Get back home, Loretta
Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Oh, get back, get back
Get back, oh yeah

ProfessorGAC

(65,010 posts)
27. Unfortunately, There Aren't Enough
Sun Nov 27, 2022, 01:11 PM
Nov 2022

It's a pet peeve. I HATE songs about cities. Not sure why, I just do.
A mere mention of a town doesn't bother me, though. ("Standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona" doesn't bug me, because the song isn't about that.)
But, i can't think of a song about a place that I've ever liked.

DFW

(54,369 posts)
34. If anyone was hanging around the University of Pennsylvania in the early seventies........
Sun Nov 27, 2022, 01:45 PM
Nov 2022

There was a guy names Johnny Meissner who wrote a song about Philadelphia.

Its lyrics might violate the terms of service for DU, so I won't even print the title...............

(He didn't like the place much.....)

There also "Philadelphia Story," from the same time, written by another Penn Student:

Cold wind, cruel wind
Blow so cold, you'll do me in
Leave me in this shape I'm in
Makes me wish I was where I've been

Junkie with eyes dilated tries to tell me we're related
Says his fortune's decimated
And it's my turn tonight to set him right

Chilly Town, rainy town
Your mayor's gut is six feet round
Brains of solid eider down

Chilly Spring, rainy Spring
The hatred touches everything
The loneliness is deafening

Cold wind, cruel wind
Blow so cold, you'll do me in
Leave me in this shape I'm in
Makes me wish I was where I've been
--------------------------------------------
Not everyone saw Rizzo's Philadelphia as a city of brotherly love. It was a depressing place to some.

malthaussen

(17,193 posts)
39. I looked up songs for all the cities with a baseball team...
Sun Nov 27, 2022, 03:34 PM
Nov 2022

... for background music while playing a computer BB simulation. Some cities, indeed, were hard to find music for.

Baltimore, though, had "Good Morning Baltimore," which is great.
Milwaukee had "Man from Milwaukee," which is also cool.
Pittsburgh was harder, although one could always use "We are Family," which was the song for both the Pirates and the Steelers back when. "There's a Pawnshop on the corner in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania" works, too.
Philadelphia has good tunes, "Philadelphia Freedom" being most popular, even if it is about a tennis team. "The Sound of Philadelphia" was a major hit in the early Disco days.

Sometimes, you just have to look real hard. I think I eventually found a track for every city, but I'm damned if I can remember what I used for Cleveland or Cincinnati.

-- Mal

nolabear

(41,960 posts)
49. Philadelphia Freedom, The Bluest Skies You've Ever Seen
Sun Nov 27, 2022, 07:49 PM
Nov 2022

Dancin’ in the Street mentions Baltimore

Sacramento, now…😏

Rhiannon12866

(205,255 posts)
55. Seattle:
Mon Nov 28, 2022, 03:05 AM
Nov 2022
The Bluest Skies You've Ever Seen Are In Seattle




The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle
And the hills the greenest green, in Seattle
Like a beautiful child, growing up, free an' wild
Full of hopes an' full of fears, full of laughter, full of tears
Full of dreams to last the years, in Seattle
. . . in Seattle!

When it's time to leave your home and your loved ones
It's the hardest thing a boy can ever do
An' you pray that you will find someone warm an' sweet an' kind
But you're not sure what's waiting there for you!

The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle
And the hills the greenest green, in Seattle
Like a beautiful child, growing up, free an' wild
Full of hopes an' full of fears, full of laughter, full of tears
Full of dreams to last the years, in Seattle
. . . in Seattle!


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