Montana - “Come Monday” (Jimmy Buffett):
Remember that night in Montana
When we said there’d be no room for doubt?
Indiana - “Indiana wants me”, R Dean Taylor. That was a top 40 hit in it’s day - I’m surprised no one got it yet.
Something tells me you should restrict this to things which mention the state in the title, or at least have the state as an important part of the song, not just a mention in passing, and not a City - specifically the state.
Oops. Correction. The South Dakota lyrics above are from “B Movie Box Car Blues” not “Flip, Flop and Fly.”
Nebraska and Wyoming - “Badlands” (Bruce Springsteen):
From the town of Lincoln, Nebraska
With a sawed-off 410 on my lap
Through the badlands of Wyoming
I killed everything in my path
According to www.getlyrics.com there is a song called The Delaware River by Mark Cohen.
Can easily do a lot better on Texas, too:
“T is for Texas” - Dwight Yoakum (penned by Jimmie Rodgers, I believe)
“Home with the Armadillo” - not in the title, but specifically about Texas.
“Memories of East Texas” - Michelle Shocked
Which Carolina gets “Carolina in the Pines”, by Michael Murphy? Does either WANT it?
If you want to do the city of Baltimore for Maryland, Randy Newman did a song called “Baltimore” (good song).
Tennessee - David Loggin’s “Please Come to Boston” (repeated chorus - “Rambling boy, why don’t you settle down / *** ain’t your kind of town / There ain’t no gold and there ain’t nobody like me / I’m the number one fan of the man from Tennessee”)
Oh, enough!
Kentucky - “Kentucky Rain” (Elvis)
South Carolina and Louisiana - “Louisiana Rain” (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers):
*South Carolina
Put out its arms to me
That was when I was taken in
And it left its mark on me
Louisiana rain
Is soakin’ through my shoes
I may never be the same
When I reach Baton Rouge*
Louisiana also gets a mention in Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry):
Way down in Louisiana close to New Orleans
Way back up in the woods amongst the evergreens…
Another Indiana Top 40 song - “I’m Going Back to Indiana” (Jackson 5)
Counting crows mention a load of places in their songs:
Baton rouge,
New Orleans
La loma (?)
Cheasapeake Bay (spelling…?)
Los Angeles
Omaha
Richmond
Maryland
Virginia
Boston
Nashville
Ohio,
and probably others too. I don’t even know where half these places are but maybe they lie in your outstanding states.
Uh, malden, Moline is one of the Quad Cities that is in Illinois (Bettendorf and Davenport are the Iowa ones, and Rock Island is the other Illinois one).
Louisiana also gets a mention in Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up in Blue”:
So I drifted down to New Orleans, where I happened to be employed
Yeah I was working for a while on a fishing boat, right outside of Delacroix
and also any version of “House of the Rising Sun.”
Speaking of Dylan songs, there’s also “Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again.”
If my calculations are correct, this marks my 400th post.
Uh, malden, Moline is one of the Quad Cities that is in Illinois (Bettendorf and Davenport are the Iowa ones, and Rock Island is the other Illinois one).
Louisiana also gets a mention in Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up in Blue”:
So I drifted down to New Orleans, where I happened to be employed
Yeah I was working for a while on a fishing boat, right outside of Delacroix
and also any version of “House of the Rising Sun.”
Speaking of Dylan songs, there’s also “Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again.”
If my calculations are correct, this marks my 400th post.
No one’s mentioned California Dreaming by The Mamas & The Papas, if I’m not mistaken.
Also, I believe it was Soundgarden’s song Outshined that has the line, “I’m looking California/but feeling Minnesota”.
I count 4 states remaining, so…
Moonlight in Vermont (jazz standard; Johnny Hartman amongst others)
*Rhode Island Is Famous For You (Broadway song; great cover by Blossom Dearie)
Oregon or New Hampshire anyone?
John Linnell of They Might Be Giants has is working on it. So far he has released
State Songs
which includes:
Illinois
Songs Of The 50 States, The
West Virginia
South Carolina
Idaho
Montana
Pennsylvania
Utah
Arkansas
Iowa
Mississippi
Maine
Oregon
Michigan
New Hampshire
Nevada
Bad Brains: “Banned in D.C.”
It’s a very popular song with me.
Of course, Johnny Cash hits most of the country in I’ve Been Everywhere
Of course, the graduate level of this is name a song for each country in the world…
This could take a while.
And then of course, who can forget Perry Como’s version of this one?
What Did Delaware?
Written By: Unknown
Copyright Unknown
What did Delaware, boys,
What did Delaware?
What did Delaware, boys,
What did Delaware?
What did Delaware, boys,
What did Delaware?
I ask you now as a personal friend,
What did Delaware?
She wore her New Jersey, boys,
She wore her New Jersey
She wore her New Jersey, boys,
She wore her New Jersey
She wore her New Jersey, boys,
She wore her New Jersey
I tell you now as a personal friend,
She wore her New Jersey
What did Idaho, boys,
What did Idaho?
What did Idaho, boys,
What did Idaho?
What did Idaho, boys,
What did Idaho?
I ask you now as a personal friend,
What did Idaho?
She hoed her Maryland, boys,
She hoed her Maryland
She hoed her Maryland, boys,
She hoed her Maryland
She hoed her Maryland, boys,
She hoed her Maryland
I tell you now as a personal friend,
She hoed her Maryland
What did Ioway, boys,
What did Ioway?
What did Ioway, boys,
What did Ioway?
What did Ioway, boys,
What did Ioway?
I ask you now as a personal friend,
What did Ioway?
She weighed a Washington, boys,
She weighed a Washington
She weighed a Washington, boys,
She weighed a Washington
She weighed a Washington, boys,
She weighed a Washington
I tell you now as a personal friend,
She weighed a Washington
How did Wiscon-sin, boys,
How did Wiscon-sin?
How did Wiscon-sin, boys,
How did Wiscon-sin?
How did Wiscon-sin, boys,
How did Wiscon-sin?
I ask you now as a personal friend,
How did Wiscon-sin?
She stole a New-bras-key, boys,
She stole a New-bras-key
She stole a New-bras-key, boys,
She stole a New-bras-key
She stole a New-bras-key, boys,
She stole a New-bras-key
I tell you now as a personal friend,
She stole a New-bras-key
What did Tennessee, boys,
What did Tennessee?
What did Tennessee, boys,
What did Tennessee?
What did Tennessee, boys,
What did Tennessee?
I ask you now as a personal friend,
What did Tennessee?
She saw what Arkansaw, boys,
She saw what Arkansaw
She saw what Arkansaw, boys,
She saw what Arkansaw
She saw what Arkansaw, boys,
She saw what Arkansaw
I tell you now as a personal friend,
She saw what Arkansaw
How did Flora-die, boys,
How did Flora-die
How did Flora-die, boys,
How did Flora-die
How did Flora-die, boys,
How did Flora-die
I ask you now as a personal friend,
How did Flora-die?
She died in Missouri, boys,
She died in Missouri
She died in Missouri, boys,
She died in Missouri
She died in Missouri, boys,
She died in Missouri
I tell you now as a personal friend,
She died in Missouri
Where has Oregon, boys,
Where has Oregon?
Where has Oregon, boys,
Where has Oregon?
Where has Oregon, boys,
Where has Oregon?
I ask you now as a personal friend,
Where has Oregon?
She’s gone to Oklahom, boys,
She’s gone to Oklahom
She’s gone to Oklahom, boys,
She’s gone to Oklahom
She’s gone to Oklahom, boys,
She’s gone to Oklahom
I tell you now as a personal friend,
She’s gone to Oklahom
Why did Califon-ya, boys,
Why did Califon?
Why did Califon-ya, boys,
Why did Califon?
Why did Califon-ya, boys,
Why did Califon?
I ask you now as a personal friend,
Why did Califon?
She phoned to say Hawai-ya, boys,
She phoned to say Hawai-ya
She phoned to say Hawai-ya, boys,
She phoned to say Hawai-ya
She phoned to say Hawai-ya, boys,
She phoned to say Hawai-ya
I tell you now as a personal friend,
That’s why Califoned.
What did Mississip, boys,
What did Mississip?
What did Mississip, boys,
What did Mississip?
What did Mississip, boys,
What did Mississip?
I ask you now as a personal friend,
What did Mississip?
She sipped a Minnisota, boys,
She sipped a Minnisota
She sipped a Minnisota, boys,
She sipped a Minnisota
She sipped a Minnisota, boys,
She sipped a Minnisota
I tell you now as a personal friend,
That’s what Mississipped.
Alabama- “Alabama Getaway” by the Grateful Dead
Alaska-
Arizona- “Arizona” by Mark Lindsay
Arkansas-
California- “California Dreaming” by the Mamas & the Papas
Colorado- “Leader of the Band” by Dan Fogelberg (“And I’m in Colorado, when I’m not in some hotel”)
Connecticut-
Delaware-
Florida- “Miami 2017/I’ve Seen the Lights Go Down on Broadway” by Billy Joel (“Before we all lived here in Florida, before the Mafia took over Mexico”)
Georgia- “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight
Hawaii- “Blue Hawaii” by Elvis Presley
Idaho - “Your Own Private Idaho” by the B-52s
Illinois-
Indiana- “Indiana Wants Me” By R. Dean Taylor
Iowa-
Kansas- “Kansas City” by Wilbert Harrison (never mind that it refers to a city in Missouri- it SAYS Kansas!)
Kentucky- “Kentucky Woman” by Neil Diamond and Deep Purple
Louisiana-
Maine- “Jim Dandy” by Black Oak Arkansas (“I was flying my way up to Maine. I bought a ticket on a DC plane”)
Maryland-
Massachusetts - “Massachusetts” by the Bee Gees
Michigan-
Minnesota-
Mississippi-
Missouri-
Montana-
Nebraska- “Nebraska” by Bruce Springsteen
Nevada-
New Hampshire-
New Jersey-
New Mexico-
New York- “Back in the New York Groove” by Ace Frehley
North Carolina- “Carolina In My Mind” by James Taylor
North Dakota-
Ohio- “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Oklahoma- “Never Been to Spain” by Three Dog Night (“well I never been to Heaven, but I’ve been to Oklahoma”)
Oregon-
Pennsylvania-
Rhode Island-
South Carolina-
South Dakota- “Rocky Raccoon” by the Beatles (“Now, somewhere in the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota lived a young boy named Rocky Raccoon.”)
Tennessee- “Please Come to Boston” by Dave Loggins (“I’m the #1 fan of a man from Tennessee.”)
Texas- “All My Exes Live in Texas” by George Strait
Utah-
Vermont- “Moonlight in Vermont” by many folkd, including Willie Nelson
Virginia-
Washington-
West Virginia- “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver
Wisconsin- “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by Gordon Lightfoot (“The ship was the pride of the American side, coming back from some mill in Wisconsin.”)
Wyoming- “From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)” by Bruce Springsteen/Dave Edmunds (“She packed her bags and went to Wyoming with a real estate man.”)
Dr. Dre (with a bunch of other people) did a song called “California Love”
Also (I know this is not really “popular” music) , the Animaniacs did a song called “Wakko’s America” that has all the states and their capitals. You can find the lyrics here: AMLF -- 31 through 40
