Has every state been mentioned in popular music?

Cafe Society
1

I was talking to my friend today about how we can’t think of our pathetic little state, Connecticut, being mentioned in any song. I was originally going to ask that in GQ but then I figured that we could probably come up with a mention for every state. Here’s what I can come up with with my fairly limited knowledge of song lyrics

Alabama-Sweet Home Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd
Alaska-
Arizona-Keep On Rockin’ Me Baby, Steve Miller Band (I went from Phoenix Arizona all the way to Tacoma)
Arkansas-
California-Lodi, CCR
Colorado-
Connecticut-
Delaware-
Florida-Miami, Will Smith
Georgia-Ramblin Man, Allman Brothers (My father was a gambler down in Georgia)
Hawaii-
Idaho
Illinois-Bad Bad Leroy Brown, Jim Croce (On the South Side of Chicago…)
Indiana-
Iowa-
Kansas-
Kentucky-
Louisiana-Brown Sugar, Rolling Stones (Sold in the market down in New Orleans)
Maine-
Maryland-
Massachusetts
Michigan-
Minnesota-
Mississippi-Mississippi Queen, Mountain
Missouri-Route 66, Rolling Stones (Well goes from St. Louie down to Missouri)
Montana-
Nebraska-
Nevada-Viva Las Vegas, Elvis
New Hampshire-
New Jersey-
New Mexico-Route 66, Rolling Stones (You’ll see Amarillo and Gallup, New Mexico)
New York-New York State Of Mind, Billy Joel
North Carolina-
North Dakota-
Ohio-Cleveland Rocks, Presidents of the USA
Oklahoma-Route 66, Rolling Stones (Oklahoma City looks oh so pretty)
Oregon-
Pennsylvania-Keep on Rockin’ Me Baby (Philadelphia, Atlanta, LA)
Rhode Island-
South Carolina-
South Dakota-
Tennessee-Proud Mary, CCR (Clean a lot of plates in Memphis)
Texas-Route 66 (I sure do get a lot out of that one: see Amarillo and Gallup, New Mexico)
Utah-
Vermont-
Virginia-
Washington-Keep on Rockin’ Me Baby (I went from Phoenix Arizona all the way to Tacoma)
West Virginia-
Wisconsin-
Wyoming-
These are all OTOH and my knowledge is limited mostly to some classic rock so you’ll probably come up with a lot more in a few minutes

2

Oh, and New Jersey gets Hurricaine, Bob Dylan (And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashing In the hot New Jersey night)

3

Simon and Garfunkel, “America” (“Michigan seems like a dream to me now / It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw…”)

and Journey, “Don’t Stop Believing” (“Just a city boy / Born and raised in south Detroit”)

And I’m sure Bob Seger mentions it a few times…

4

Off the top of my head -

Kentucky- “Man of Constant Sorrow”
Maryland - “Baltimore” (probably)
Michigan - “America”
Nebraska - I’m pretty sure it’s mentioned on Springsteen’s Nebraska
New Jersey - “Jersey Girl”
West Virginia - “Country Roads”

5

In “Cadillac Ranch”, a line is “little girlie in the blue jeans so tight
Drivin’ off through the Wisconsin night”

Same song he says “Junior Johnson haulin through the woods of Caroline” Which I assume means North Carolina.
“Dancin in the streets” mentions Baltimore, New Orleans, Detroit, Philadelphia, plus some others I’m sure I’m forgetting.

Elvis sang “Blue Hawaii”

Ummm… Slipknot has an album called “Iowa”, but I don’t know if they mention it in any song.

I’ll let some others have a chance now.

6

Massachusetts - “Dirty Water” by the Standells: “Love that dirty water, oh, oh, Boston you’re my home”

7

Alaska: :North To Alaska" and “Springtime In Alaska” both by Johnny Horton

Colorado: “Rocky Mountain High” John Denver, “Nobody’s Fat In Aspen” Christine Lavin, “Avalanche” The Zambonies

8

Connecticut: “Bob Marley and the Hartford Whalers” The Zambonies. The song also mentions NJ, MI and PA.

Pennsylvania: “Russian Pop Song” The Zambonies. " Sergi and Alexi took a train to Pittsburg."

9

NC has that song “Carolina Calling” I think by Willie Nelson.

Also that song “North Carolina, raise up!” by Petey Pablo (this song sucks so bad it’s funny.)

10

Wisconsin is mentioned in RCHP’s “Around the World”

11

Define ‘popular music’ ;).

If you consider country:

Virginia: Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde, Travis Tritt (Long way to Richmond…)

Colorado: Rocky Mountain High, Bob Denver

12

While they (sadly) were never very popular outside of a local scene, the band Lawsuit (from Davis, CA) had a song called “North Dakotachrome” which includes about 40 state & city names (mostly states), which were mostly in puns, if somewhat nonsensical. (e.g. “I’m in such misery; I’m ill, annoyed, and glum/She carries on about me I don’t know why” has four state names in it.)

CT comes up right near the start :

I never doubted you, we never connected
Cut out all the attitude and in the end I’ll fight for you

13

Sweet Virginia is on Exile on Main Street by The Rolling Stones. I don’t get the impression from the lyrics that they’re talking about a woman named Virginia.

14

well there was George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers, but that’s a band name, not a song name or line from a song. plus they droped the delaware from there name long ago (here in delaware, we still use the old name).

15

The Bee Gees did a song called ** Massachusetts **.

Tom Waits did ** Jersey Girl **. Yes, I know Springsteen covered it.

16

Alaska: “Anchorage” by Michelle Shocked
Kansas: “Jack Straw” by the Grateful Dead (“Jack Straw from Wichita”)
Maine: “New England” by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers (“Oh, I’ve been to old Israel’s arid plain…it’s magnificent, but so’s Maine.”)
Utah: “I Lost my Sugar in Salt Lake City” recorded by everyone from Louis Armstrong to Judy Garland to Lena Horne to Perry Como

17

Lynyrd Skynrd mentions Boise, Idaho at the beginning of “What’s Your Name.”

Well, its 8 o’clock in Boise, Idaho
I’ll find my limo driver
Mister, take us to the show

18

Gilligaaaaaan!

19

some more:

There was a “Weird Al” Yankovic song with the line “He owns half of Montana”. I don’t know the song title, though.

Hootie and the Blowfish mention Charleston (South Carolina) in at least one of their songs.

Sringsteen has the line “On a rattlesnake speedway in the Utah desert” in the song “Promised Land.”

Springsteen also has the song “Mary Queen of Arkansas”

…and Springsteen mentions a Maryland city in “Hungry Heart”: “Got a wife and kids in Baltimore, Jack…”

The city of Moline, Iowa is mentioned in the Bob Seger song “Fire Down Below.” (“It happens in Moline, on the blueblood streets of Boston, up in Berkeley and out in Queens.”) Or maybe he’s slurriing the name “New Orleans.”

…and “Turn the Page” mentions Omaha (Nebraska).

And there’s the B-52’s “Private Idaho.”

Pennsylvania itself (not just a city in Pa.) is mentioned in Billy Joel’s “allentown” (“Waiting here in Allentown/For the Pennsylvania we never found”)

…and his song “Miami 2017” mentions Florida: “Before we all lived here in Florida…”)

20

South Dakota - “Flip, Flop and Fly” (Blues Brothers and Delbert McClinton):

Hitched a ride in South Dakota
With two girls in a light blue DeSoto
One’s name was Jane
The other was plain
But they both had a racin’ motor

Minnesota and Iowa - “Big River” (Johnny Cash):

I met her accidentally in St. Paul (Minnesota).
And it tore me up every time I heard her drawl, Southern drawl.
Then I heard my dream was back Downstream cavortin’ in Davenport,
And I followed you, Big River, when you called.