# Help me find songs that refer to states! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2004, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342 "2004-08-18T03:08:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/41 "2004-08-18T16:57:03Z")
IIRC, [Wakko’s America](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000336P/qid=1092848073/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/002-1188250-0486428?v=glance&s=music&n=507846) has every state in it. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/42 "2004-08-18T16:58:24Z")
How about Whoever’s in New England by Reba. It talks about Massachusetts. Head’s Carolina, Tails California JoDee Messina mentions obviously Carolina and California. She doesn’t specify which Carolina. Also mentioned are Boston and Des Moines but you didn’t say anything about cities. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/43 "2004-08-18T17:06:02Z")
There’s also Forty Hour Week (for a living) by Alabama. Kansas, West Virginia and some cities are mentioned. By the same band there’s also I’f You’re Gonna Play In Texas (You Gotta Have A Fiddle In The Band). This song mentions Texas and Louisiana. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/44 "2004-08-18T17:18:14Z")
Keep 'em coming, guys! Here’s what I need: 1. Nebraska (I used the Springsteen song for Wyoming) 2. New Hampshire 3. Delaware (I’d like to avoid the “What Did Delaware” song if I can help it) 4. Missouri 5. Virginia 6. Hawaii ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/45 "2004-08-18T17:20:15Z")
There’s a song called “Cadillac Ranch” by little known indie artist Bruce Springsteen that has the line “Little girl in the blue jeans so tight Ridin off into the Wisconsin night.” Someone (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band?) remade this and changed it to “Colorado Night”. Rat-bastards. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/46 "2004-08-18T17:27:54Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Keep 'em coming, guys! Here’s what I need: > > 1. Nebraska (I used the Springsteen song for Wyoming) > 2. New Hampshire > 3. Delaware (I’d like to avoid the “What Did Delaware” song if I can help it) > 4. Missouri > 5. Virginia > 6. Hawaii Unless I missed something in the rules, I think the Tori song I mentioned should count for Virginia. It’s mentioned a couple of times in the lyrics, and it avoids the ‘only in the chorus’ rule because there doesn’t seem to be a chorus. The first line is “in the lush virginia hills,” and I’m sure if there’s a chorus, the first line wouldn’t be it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/47 "2004-08-18T18:48:37Z")
“Honolulu Lulu” by Godley & Creme (“Aloha, it’s Honolulu Lulu from Hawaii”) “The Great Nebraska Sea” by [Blake Hodgetts](http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Station/1192/blake.htm) (“On October 4, North Platte, Nebraska plummeted eight feet”) “You Came a Long Way From St. Louis” by Marvin Gaye (“Well, baby, I got news for you, I’m from Missouri too.”) ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/48 "2004-08-18T19:00:38Z")
Can I just ask: do you care that the song you have for New Jersey is about (and named for) a Pennsylvania city? Not that there’s any shortage of songs mentioning Jersey, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/49 "2004-08-18T19:33:57Z")
“Square from Delaware” by Fats Waller ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/50 "2004-08-18T19:48:51Z")
Lyle Lovett, _That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas)_ “They’re OK in Oklahoma Up in Arkansas they’re fair But those old folks in Missouri They don’t even know you’re there” That song also mentions Texas, Georgia, Tennessee and Carolina (but not specificially North or South) ---
**Author:** ![dry\_gear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@dry\_gear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dry_gear)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/51 "2004-08-18T19:57:00Z")
I think the song Skyway by The Replacements would be a good Minnesota song. I think A Long December would work better for California than Daylight Fading: "And it’s one more day up in the canyons And it’s one more night in Hollywood If you think you might come to California…I think you should " ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/52 "2004-08-18T20:03:44Z")
“Old New Hampshire Home” by Smokey Greene (I’ll Always) Miss New Hampshire" by Jim Britton ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/53 "2004-08-18T20:18:17Z")
“Hazard” by Richard Marx (“I need to make it to the river, and leave this old Nebraska town.”) Hawaii is mentioned indirectly in “The Last Resort” by the Eagles. (“You can leave it all behind, and sail to Lahaina, just like the missionaries did so many years ago.”) ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/54 "2004-08-18T20:42:36Z")
For Wyoming, save that other song for Nebraska and use this: “4.47 AM (The Remains of Our Love)” - Roger Waters \ [Young Child:] “Are we going to go now?” [Jade:] “Where would you like to go darling?” [Wife:] “Mmm…Vermont…Wyoming.” [Jade:] “Wyoming…huh…Children!” [Children:] “What?” [Jade:] “We’re going to Wyoming Darling…Which way is Wyoming?” [Wife:] “Hook a right here You’re going the wrong way.” [Jade:] "I know that I know children… Let’s see how many…Volvos we pass On the way to our new life in the country …One [Wife:] “Jade, don’t do that, that’s really negative.” … To fine tune other states, consider these: “New York Minute” - Don Henley “California Girls” and “Hawaii” by the Beach Boys is pretty much a no-brainer. “Please Come To Boston” - Kenny Chesney with the chorus: “I’m the number one fan of the man from Tennessee” ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/55 "2004-08-18T20:56:37Z")
Well, Rodgers and Hammerstein once wrote an entire musical about Oklahoma. I can’t remember the title, though. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/56 "2004-08-18T21:24:59Z")
> [@Yeticus Rex](#): > > “Please Come To Boston” - Kenny Chesney with the chorus: > “I’m the number one fan of the man from Tennessee” Kenny Chesney??? That song came out when he was 6. Dave Loggins, cousin of Kenny, wrote and sung it in 1974. It went to #5. It’s been covered by, among others, David Allen Coe, Joan Baez, Reba McEntire and Kenny Rogers. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/57 "2004-08-18T22:54:14Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > Well, Rodgers and Hammerstein once wrote an entire musical about Oklahoma. > > I can’t remember the title, though. I think it was called “The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down.” ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/58 "2004-08-18T23:43:25Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > 1. Virginia Billy Joel, “Somewhere Along the Line”: \*Sweet Virginia cigarette, burnin’ in my hand . . . \* ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/59 "2004-08-19T01:33:01Z")
“All I Owe Ioway” from “State Fair” by Rodgers and Hammerstein: “All I know, all I owe, I owe Ioway I owe Ioway all I know and I know why I am Ioway born and bred and on Ioway corn I’m fed (Not to mention her barely, wheat and rye.)” etc Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342/60 "2004-08-19T01:51:45Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > Kenny Chesney??? That song came out when he was 6. Dave Loggins, cousin of Kenny, wrote and sung it in 1974. It went to #5. It’s been covered by, among others, David Allen Coe, Joan Baez, Reba McEntire and Kenny Rogers. My bad… :smack: I was guessing on who might have been the original artist…didn’t remember who it was since it’s been 15+ years since I heard it last. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-songs-that-refer-to-states/260342.md?page=4)