London Calling would be the first one that comes to mind to me.
That or Werewolves of London…
Lots of songs referencing Michigan and Detroit.
I lived for a time in Kalamazoo. Awesome live footage, surprise performers at the end.
Allentown’s a great song, though.
The song was originally written for the television show. It then became a hit song. This has happened many times before and after this song was written. The theme to Peter Gunn, the Jed Clampett song (Beverly Hillbillies) and Welcome Back, Kotter are some other examples.
I’ve lived there since 1998 and hadn’t heard it either.
Not an official song, but I know some Tucsonans, when listening to “Get Back,” focus completely on the line “Jojo left his home in Tucson, Arizona…”
By the same token, there are probably some folks in Winslow who think “Take It Easy” is their song: “Well, I’m a standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona…” In fact, they erected a statue of a guy standing…on a corner…in Winslow, Arizona:
Just to add to the pile of San Francisco songs, there is also Journey’s “Lights” and The Village People “San Francisco”
As a Los Angeles resident, I can’t help but also mention Red Hot Chili Peppers “Under The Bridge” and Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’”
Tulsa has about a billion songs with Tulsa in the title
In the 1970s, Rita Abrams and the Strawberry Point 3rd grade class sang a song about their love for the town of Mill Valley, California.
Would that count for the purposes of this thread?
Give us one! (I can’t even think of one myself.)
Oh wait. I got whooshed. I just woke up.
But is there also a statue of a girl. by Lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowing down to take a look at me …?
A lot of great responses, so far, thanks.
It seems that in the U.S., that Denver and Minneapolis are the major cities that are still songless.
Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead, Warren Zevon
I know you’re kidding, but there is either a mural of a flatbed Ford, or an actual flatbed Ford parked nearby (or at least, there used to be).
It seems @Dung_Beetle has Denver covered so:
Many people assume ‘Dirty Old Town’ is about Dublin, as it was covered (and therefore made famous by) The Dubliners and The Pogues, but it’s actually about Salford, Manchester. There’s a line in the lyrics which people read as ‘the sulphured wind’ (ie a stinky, industrial smell) when it’s actually ‘the Salford wind’.
There’s also “Doraville”, by Atlanta Rhythm Section, about a small city well within the Atlanta metro area.
Nevertheless, I really can’t think of a song that’s iconically Atlanta, the way “New York, New York” or “Georgia On My Mind” are.
Perhaps not the official city song, but when I lived in Miami in the 80s, this song was popular and perfectly fit the ambiance of the cool city:
I also lived in Philadelphia and these songs were popular:
